EMBATTLED Pastor Apollo Quiboloy remains in hiding in the Philippines pending his two warrants of arrest while jurisdiction of his cases was transferred from Davao to Pasig City, according to Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Secretary and spokesman Mico Clavano.
In a press conference on Thursday, Clavano told the Malacañang Press Corps that their information showed Quiboloy, facing charges for child abuse and qualified trafficking, remains at large in the Philippines “unless there’re new developments from the police.”
“The respondent, or the accused [Quiboloy] has to submit his person to the court for the court to be able to assert its jurisdiction and to subject him to other processes under the law,” Clavano told reporters.
“Obviously he’s still at large so the law enforcement is still on the lookout and they’ve continued the operations to be able to arrest on the basis of the warrants that have been issued by the court,” the DOJ official added.
Asked to comment on requests for the issuance of a hold departure order (HDO) against Quiboloy, Clavano said it has been brought up already as prosecutors have already filed their motion to issue the HDO against him.
“So, once you have a respondent or an accused, that is a flight risk especially given the resources that this person has, then the prosecutors are very diligent in making sure that that doesn’t happen ‘no – that the accused is able to leave the country without actually facing the allegations in the proper forum,” he said.
Clavano added the Bureau of Immigration has already placed Quiboloy on its lookout list.
In the same news conference, Clavano reiterated the call for Quiboloy to surrender.
kung naging mahirap itong taong ‘to, 3 days lang huli ito. welcome sa pinas, where rich corrupt men rule!