MANILA – Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Apollo Quiboloy has been urged to respect the Senate as an institution by showing up in inquiries regarding the child abuse and human trafficking accusations against him.
According to the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality, Quiboloy’s “level of mockery” of a constitutional exercise of duty by a Senate committee is “unprecedented and disturbing.”
Quiboloy’s camp had already responded to the show cause order released by the Senate and justified the pastor’s refusal to appear in the inquiry.
Quiboloy’s lawyer Melanio Balayan urged that the contempt order be set aside and deny the issuance of a warrant of arrest against his client, recall of the subpoenas issued by the Senate, and discuss their response to the show cause order at the Senate plenary.
“Considering all these, once again, I request for the Senate President to issue an arrest order against Apollo C. Quiboloy. He must show up. He must respect the institution of the Senate,” said committee chair Sen. Risa Hontiveros yesterday.
But Balayan also argued that the Senate’s move to compel the appearance of his client is “tantamount to usurpation of judicial functions beyond the powers of the Senate” and that the resolution filed by Hontiveros is “incriminatory as it categorically declared the guilt” of his client “totally disregarding…presumption of innocence until proven guilty.”
Hontiveros appealed to her Senate colleagues: “Sa mga kasamahan ko sa Senado, huwag nating hayaan maliitin niya ang ating iniingatang institusyon. Kung hindi pa tayo manindigan sa kanyang tahasang pambabastos sa Senado, ewan ko na kung saan tayo pupulutin nito.”
However, Balayan further said that the refusal of Quiboloy to attend the probe is “not a sign of disrespect” to the Senate nor a disregard of its powers and functions “but is purely based on the fact that the criminal allegations against him can only be legitimately settled before the competent courts.”
“We, including my legal team, immediately read through and assessed the (submitted) documents carefully, mindful of due process for the accused but also with a view to ensuring that the Senate as an institution is protected from dilatory tactics of parties,” Hontiveros said.
“Isa po ang naging maliwanag sa aming pag-review, his explanation is nowhere near satisfactory. They did nothing but rehash previous arguments they made for not attending our Senate hearings,” she added./PN
