Makati court issues extradition warrant against Quiboloy over US charges

A Philippine court has issued an extradition warrant of arrest against detained preacher Apollo C. Quiboloy, bringing the United States closer to securing his transfer to face charges involving human trafficking and sex trafficking. 
 
The Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 145 issued the warrant on Nov. 12, three days after the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed an extradition petition on behalf of the US government, the agency said in a statement on Friday. 
 
The petition covers three individuals, including Mr. Quiboloy, and was filed to facilitate their extradition to Washington. 
 
The court found probable cause that Mr. Quiboloy was the person named in the corresponding foreign arrest warrant and indictment, that the offenses charged were extraditable and that he committed the alleged offenses, according to the DoJ. 
 
The court also issued a hold departure order to prevent him from leaving the Philippines. 
 
The DoJ said that once notified of the implementation of the arrest warrant, the court would personally serve Mr. Quiboloy with a summons and copies of the extradition petition and its attachments. He would then have 15 days from receipt to file a verified answer. 
 
The US government is seeking his extradition over charges that include international human trafficking, sex trafficking, conspiracy and bulk cash smuggling.  
 
Mr. Quiboloy remains incarcerated at the Pasig City Jail while undergoing trial for non-bailable qualified human trafficking charges before a Pasig RTC, alongside separate child abuse cases in Quezon City. 
 
Justice spokesman Raphael Niccolo L. Martinez said that state prosecutors had completed presenting evidence in the qualified human trafficking case against Quiboloy before the Pasig court. 
 
“The prosecution will now file its formal offer of evidence, after which the defense will be given an opportunity to comment,” Mr. Martinez told reporters in a Viber message. 
 
In a separate child abuse case under Republic Act No. 7610 pending before the Quezon City RTC, the prosecution was still presenting its evidence, he added. 
 
Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel welcomed the extradition warrant, citing her role in leading Senate hearings into allegations of abuse involving Mr. Quiboloy. 
 
In 2024, the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality conducted inquiries into the allegations against the preacher. 
 
“The world is listening. Quiboloy can no longer escape accountability,” she said in a statement. “Now, the process must move forward without delay,” she said. — Erika Mae P.  Sinaking