Stand Away as Police Approach Pastor ‘Son of God’

Clashes have broken out in the Philippines as thousands of police stormed a sprawling religious complex in search of an influential pastor accused of child sex trafficking and other crimes.

Police said they would not leave until they found Apollo Quiboloy, who called himself “God’s Appointed Son.”

He is believed to be hiding inside his 30-hectare (75-acre) compound, which contains around 40 buildings, including a church, a school and even an aircraft hangar.

Authorities have been hunting Quiboloy for months. He has previously said he “will not be taken alive.”

Police raided the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound on Saturday night, with reports saying they later used tear gas against Quiboloy’s followers who became “unruly and violent,” Davao police spokeswoman Major Catherina dela Rey told Rappler news agency.

Hundreds of Mr Quiboloy’s followers blocked several major highways in an attempt to disrupt traffic to the compound.

They maintain his innocence and say the charges against him are fabricated.

A supporter of the group died of a heart attack during a police raid.

Police believe Mr. Quiboloy was hiding in an underground bunker, relying on a device that is said to be able to detect people hidden behind walls based on their heartbeats, Major dela Rey said.

Mr. Quiboloy’s KOJC claims seven million followers and he has grown his ministry through television, radio and social media.

He also has political influence and was a spiritual adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose family holds political power in Davao City.

Since Mr Duterte stepped down in 2022, the government has prosecuted Mr Quiboloy.

He is accused of trafficking people to the United States to solicit donations for fake charities. He is also accused of asking his female followers, some of them minors, to have sex with him as a religious obligation.

He said “evil” was behind his legal troubles. He also said he did not want the Federal Bureau of Investigation “to interfere” in his case.

Mr. Quiboloy said in April that he was “protecting” himself by hiding from authorities.

“I’m not running away from the charges because I’m guilty. That’s not true. I’m just defending myself,” he said.

Mr. Quiboloy is the leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, a Christian sect that claims to have seven million members.

He claimed to have heard God whisper to him, “I will use you,” while attending an event by American pastor Billy Graham in Korea in 1973. This prompted him to found KOJC in Davao, Philippines in 1985.

Mr. Quiboloy preaches from a glass table set next to giant photographs of his lush hilltop estate, called “Eden Restored.”

When not in Davao, he is seen traveling by private jet.

His rise nationwide mirrors that of Mr Duterte. Both began in Davao, where the former president once served as mayor.

Quiboloy’s popularity soared even higher when Mr Duterte was elected president in 2016. But that reputation began to decline when Mr Duterte left office in 2022.

In addition to his alliance with Mr Duterte, Mr Quiboloy also gained significant influence by backing politicians in elections.

Mr. Quiboloy is a supporter of one of Duterte’s predecessors, Gloria Arroyo.

When he supported Arroyo’s choice of successor in the 2010 election, Mr. Quiboloy claimed to have seen the candidate’s name in a vision that included then-US President Barack Obama.

In the Philippines, leaders of religious organizations and sects become politically powerful when they direct their followers to vote as a bloc, analysts say.

The electoral competition could become so fierce that some candidates believe the support of leaders like Mr. Quiboloy could make or break their campaigns.

“Politics in the Philippines is largely a moral enterprise. Voters therefore look to religious leaders for guidance,” political scientist Cleve Arguelles told BBC News.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Mr. Quiboloy with child sex trafficking, fraud, coercion, and large-scale cash smuggling.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said he trafficked girls and women from the Philippines to the United States, where they were forced to raise money for a fake charity.

The FBI said he also demanded that female personal assistants, known as “pastors”, have sex with him.

In January 2022, the FBI issued a wanted poster seeking information on Mr. Quiboloy’s whereabouts.

Last March, the Philippine Department of Justice filed charges against Mr. Quiboloy for human trafficking and sexual harassment for allegedly raping a teenage woman in 2011.

Courts in both the United States and the Philippines have issued warrants for his arrest.

Mr Quiboloy has denied the charges against him and accused the US government of pre-judging his case.