September 20, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — A former member of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ turned whistle-blower yesterday said KOJC leader Apollo Quiboloy gifted former president Rodrigo Duterte and other officials with women amid allegations that the self-styled son of God was involved in human trafficking.
In an interview with dzRH, Arlene Stone – a former worker of KOJC and spokesperson for former KOJC members now residing in the United States – said the victim allegedly offered by Quiboloy to Duterte is still at the church compound in Davao City.
“Based on my information, (some members of the pastoral) were being offered to (persons) very close to Quiboloy, like for example president Duterte. If he (Duterte) likes one of the members of the pastoral, Quiboloy would grant it,” Stone said.
She added that aside from Duterte, Quiboloy also gifted other officials who were in power.
“(The victim) is still inside the compound of Quiboloy and this is one of our calls to the government, that members of the true pastoral – as they tagged us as fake pastoral – should also be investigated by the Senate in the next hearing,” Stone added.
According to Stone, the members of the pastoral should answer the accusations against Quiboloy.
Stone said that KOJC members in the US were required to contribute monthly pledges ranging from $1,800 to $2,500.
“There came a time that I was not able to give my pledges as at that time I gave birth and my mother got sick when I petitioned her here in the US. That time, I had no regular work. They got mad at me because I was not able to comply with my pledges that were compounded for the next month and as a result became debt,” she said.
Stone has asked other alleged victims of Quiboloy to surface and testify against the KOJC leader.
According to Stone, they are hoping that Quiboloy will be finally extradited and face his charges in the US.
‘Quiboloy not a pimp’
Former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea shrugged off claims that Quiboloy had gifted his close ally, former president Duterte, with women.
“Pastor Quiboloy is not a pimp that he will cater to even the former president,” Medialdea said.
“I don’t know if I will laugh or be annoyed with the kinds of narratives that spout from their mouths,” Medialdea added.
Quiboloy is facing serious sexual assault and human trafficking charges.
Duterte, on the other hand, admitted to being a womanizer, although it could not be ascertained if indeed his spiritual adviser “gifted” him women.
Fake witness
In reaction, Quiboloy’s camp dismissed the claims of the whistle-blower, calling her a “fake witness.”
“A fake witness. Ms. Stone is a certified Marites, a pathological liar to the bone,” Mark Tolentino, one of legal counsels of Quiboloy, said in a text message to The STAR.
Tolentino, who also represents Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), said they would respond accordingly after the Philippine National Police (PNP) threatened to file charges against certain personalities who helped Quiboloy.
“Questioning the legality of the search is not obstruction of justice or inciting to sedition. We hope that the PNP has a basis for their cases. We will respond to it accordingly, based on law, jurisprudence and evidence,” Tolentino said.
The PNP refused to comment on the allegations.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo did not reply when asked to comment about the revelation of Stone.
‘Rodrigo admin wanted to link Roxas, Drilon to drugs’
Meanwhile, former Iloilo mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said he went into self-exile after the Duterte administration wanted him to link former senators Mar Roxas and Franklin Drilon to illegal drug deals.
Mabilog also believes a power outage in the city when then presidential candidate Duterte held a campaign rally in May 2016 was among the reasons why he ended up in the so-called narco-list.
“There was a rally in Iloilo City (organized by then Davao City mayor Duterte) during the campaign (in 2016), and there was a brownout, and he attributed this to me being the mayor,” Mabilog, who went on self-exile to the US during Duterte’s six-year administration, recounted during yesterday’s hearing of the House of Representatives’ quad committee.
“These are only my presumptions and assumption. I never knew the main reason,” Mabilog admitted, insisting his drug charges were all “baseless and fabricated.”
Mabilog also recalled that then PNP chief and now Sen. Ronald dela Rosa called him up for a meeting at Camp Crame in 2017, but he backed out after several police officials advised him against it.
“They called, their voice was grim: don’t return. Your life is in danger. The accusations against you are all fabricated, but if you go, you’ll be forced to point fingers to an opposition senator and former presidential candidate as drug lords,” he quoted the PNP officials as warning him.
For his part, Dela Rosa denied the supposed plot to kill Mabilog.
“Before mayor Jed Mabilog disappeared, he called me to say he is very much worried for his safety. I told him: I know you to be a good mayor, and I can assure you nothing will happen to you. I told him if he is afraid, he should visit me at Crame, and that I would convince the President that he is a decent man,” Dela Rosa said.
“Later on, he called me to say he would no longer visit me. I learned later on that he flew to Japan instead,” he added.
Dela Rosa called it a tall tale that he would have Mabilog killed at Camp Crame had the latter pushed through with the visit. “Very incredible to think I asked him to visit me at Camp Crame to have him killed,” Dela Rosa said.
For his part, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil assured Mabilog that the PNP would be ready to give him protection if he requested it. – Delon Porcalla, Emmanuel Tupas, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Edith Regalado
