Ex-KJC members accuse Quiboloy of sexual abuse

Several women appeared at a Senate inquiry on Tuesday to narrate their claims of sexual abuse against Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

The women are former KJC members who were invited to the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality's inquiry into the alleged cases of large-scale human trafficking, rape, sexual abuse and violence, and child abuse involving the KJC. 

During the hearing, an alias “Amanda” revealed that she was a minor when Quiboloy himself took advantage of her. 

She said she was 12 years old when she started attending the KJC church and became an active member a few years later.

According to her, she was 16 when she was invited to go to Davao City to perform in an open-field concert. 

There, she was recruited to become a full-time worker at KJC, and she and her sister were promised some benefits, including free education, lodging, travel, and an allowance. 

However, when she turned 17, Amanda said a certain Jackielyn Roy tasked her one night to “sanctify” by submitting herself to Quiboloy. 

“Sabi niya, parte daw ng trabaho ng Ministry of the Pastorals na i-masahe si Quiboloy. Sabi niya, special privilege daw ito dahil hindi naman daw lahat nahahawakan at nakakalapit sa Anak ng Diyos. Sabi niya pa, wag ko daw pagdudahan ang anuman na mangyayari sa loob ng kwarto kasama si Qiuboloy, basta ibigay ko lang daw ang sarili ko,” Amanda said. 

(Roy said that the Ministry of the Pastorals' duties included massaging Quiboloy. She considered it a special privilege since not everyone is able to get up close and touch the Son of God. Roy advised me to submit to the pastor and not to question anything that might occur in the room with Quiboloy.)

Amanda said Roy told her to clean herself first. 

Roy showed her how to massage Quiboloy and advised her not to leave the room unless the pastor specifically told her to. 

“Sinimulan niyang tanggalin ang butones ng T-shirt ko, hanggang sa tuluyan nyang tinanggal ang buong t-shirt ko. Sabi nya, tumalikod daw ako, sumunod lang ako at doon, tinanggal niya ang aking bra. Pagkatapos, hinawakan niya ang balikat ko at hinila pahiga sa kama,” she narrated.

(Quiboloy began unbuttoning my T-shirt and continued until he took it off. I then turned around as he instructed. Then he took off my bra, grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me onto the bed.)

“Nung nakahiga na ako, pumaibabaw sa akin si Quiboloy. Tapos, kahit pareho pa kaming naka-pajama non, kinikiskis nya ang ari niya sa ari ko. Sinimulan niyang halikan ang leeg ko. Nanigas na ako nang husto. Gusto kong sumigaw ng tulong at tanungin kung ano ang ginagawa niya, pero naalala ko na bawal akong magtanong.” 

(Quiboloy was then on top of me. He was rubbing his genitals against mine while still wearing pajamas. He started kissing my neck. I became motionless. I wanted to shout for help and ask what he was doing, but I remember I was not allowed to question his actions.)

Since then, Amanda said she had observed that some members of the close-in pastorals were also told to prepare before meeting Quiboloy and would only return in the morning.

Amanda said in 2016 she was able to call her mother to ask for help.

“Sobrang traumatic ng pinagdaanan ko sa loob ng KJC Compound. Hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin ako nakaka-recover. Hindi nila nilalabas ang aking transcript of records sa JMC (Jose Maria College), ang paaralang pag-aari ni Quiboloy, dahil may utang daw kaming tuition, kami ng kapatid ko. Samantalang, una pa lang, sinabi nila na kami ay mga iskolar,'' Amanda said. 

(I had a very traumatic experience at the KJC compound. Until today, I was unable to recover. Despite having been told from the start that my sister and I were scholars, they withheld my transcript of records from JMC, the Quiboloy-owned school, citing our unpaid tuition.)

Two Ukrainian women who were also former members of KJC also testified in the form of a video shown at the Senate hearing. 

Like Amanda, alias “Nina” and alias “Sofia” were also told to sacrifice themselves for Quiboloy. 

“It's like ‘night duty.’ There's a schedule for every girl that you have to be there, and every time I go there, I am like praying that he will just be sleeping and not touching me,” Nina said. 

“One time at night, he came to me in my room to have sex, and I was crying. I said I didn't want [to] and he got mad at me. He said you're going to hell because of that.”

During the same hearing, the Senate panel, led by Senator Risa Hontiveros, issued a subpoena against Quiboloy for skipping its investigation into various accusations against the religious group.

Hontiveros also ordered the issuance of invitations to three more individuals who were mentioned in the victims' testimonies during the investigation.

In a privilege speech last year, Hontiveros revealed accounts of victims who were allegedly exploited or sexually abused by Quiboloy.

Responding to the resolution, Quiboloy's legal counsel dared Hontiveros to bring the allegations to the proper courts and dismissed the Senate probe as a mere "deception."

Quiboloy was indicted in the United States in 2021 on charges also related to alleged sex-trafficking operations. —VBL, GMA Integrated News