Quiboloy innocent, ready to face trafficking charges, says camp

The camp of Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy parried allegations of human trafficking following the raid of its office and the arrest of three administrators in the United States.

In a statement, Quiboloy’s lawyer, Israelito Torreon, said, “We are ready, able and willing to show and prove the innocence of the Kingdom.”

“We are awaiting our day in court,” he added.

According to a report on ABC News Thursday, the office of the church in Los Angeles was raided after a criminal complaint was filed against leaders Guia Cabactulan, Marissa Duenas, and Amanda Estopare.

Citing information from investigators, the report said that the leaders force church members to solicit money for a children's foundation it was using as a front. The collection, however, actually goes to the church's operations.

Torreon said the complaint against the church was “nothing but a grand conspiracy of lies concocted by former members of the Kingdom who have an axe to grind against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.”

“They are into this grand conspiracy in order to put to shame pastor Apollo Quiboloy and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.  We will show to the world that Pastor Quiboloy is innocent against these insinuations,” he added.

Torreon also said the three administrators are merely "exercising their religious rights in spreading the good news.”

He said a team of lawyers will defend the church in the trafficking case.

According to the group's website, Quiboloy has seven million followers worldwide, covering 200 countries and 2,000 cities.

In November last year, after the spate of quake that hit parts of Mindanao,  Quiboloy  claimed that the public ought to thank him for "stopping" one of the earthquakes which hit late October.

"Ako'y umiinom lang ng kape eh, lumilindol. Sinabi ko, 'lindol huminto ka!' Huminto," Quiboloy, the leader of the religious sect called the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, said in a televised program.

Claiming that he had witnesses to prove his claim, Quiboloy, the self-declared "Appointed Son of God," added, "Pasalamat kayo sa 'kin, pasalamat kayo sa 'kin. Kasi kung 'di ko pina-stop 'yun, marami kayong magigiba diyan. Mamamatay kayo. Kaya pasalamat kayo ako ang nagpa-stop ng lindol." —LDF, GMA News