Pastor, Wanted In US For Child Sex Trafficking, Arrested In Philippines

The Philippines said Sunday it had arrested a pastor wanted in the United States for child sex trafficking, two weeks into a massive police manhunt for the self-proclaimed "Appointed Son of God".

Apollo Quiboloy, who has close relations with former president Rodrigo Duterte, is the founder of the Philippines-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church that claims millions of members.

He was charged by the US Justice Department in 2021 with sex trafficking of girls and women between the ages of 12 and 25 to work as personal assistants, or "pastorals", who were allegedly required to have sex with him.

"Apollo Quiboloy has been arrested," Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos said on his official Facebook page.

Quiboloy is also sought for cash smuggling and a scheme that brought church members to the US using fraudulently obtained visas.

They were then forced to solicit donations for a bogus charity, raising funds that were instead used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders, according to the FBI.

It is not known if the US has sought extradition for Quiboloy, aged at least 74 according to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A US embassy spokesman referred media queries to the Philippine authorities.

The politically connected pastor has also been charged with human trafficking in a Philippine court.

- 'Concerted effort' -

Brigadier-General Nicolas Torre, the regional police chief who led the manhunt, confirmed the arrest at a news conference, but did not provide additional details.

"This is a concerted effort of everyone involved," Torre told reporters.

"Let's be proud. We did our job today."

During his months-long flight from justice, Quiboloy demanded a written guarantee from Manila that he would not be subject to "extraordinary rendition" as a condition for his surrender.

The term refers to a US government practice of sending detained suspected members of terror organisations to another country for imprisonment and interrogation.

Some 2,000 police were deployed at the KOJC headquarters in the southern city of Davao on August 24 to serve an arrest warrant against Quiboloy.

Duterte and his daughter -- incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte who has had a falling out with President Ferdinand Marcos -- had publicly criticised the police raid of the sect's 30-hectare (70-acre) property as they searched for Quiboloy.

Minutes after Quiboloy's arrest was announced, SMNI, a Philippine television station run by his sect, posted on its Facebook page pictures of members embracing uniformed police officers.

"After all the pains and struggles, it is evident that the KOJC missionaries have embraced Pastor Apollo Quiboloy's teaching to love not only their neighbours but even their enemies," it said in a message accompanying the photos.

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