A famous preacher in the Philippines denies sexual abuse claims

A minister in the Philippines is being accused of sexually abusing his followers. On Wednesday, he spoke out for the first time since being charged with trafficking and other crimes. He denied new accusations of wrongdoing on top of the old ones.

Someone called Apollo Quiboloy called himself the “Appointed Son of God” and started the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church. On Wednesday, former church members spoke out against him for the first time at a senate meeting looking into his alleged wrongdoings.

During the public senate probe, he was accused of forcing a teenager to stop going to school to sell food to raise money for his church and of forcing workers to break government rules while working long hours to build a building for his media company.

“There is no truth to what they said,” Quiboloy, 74, said in response. He told the victims that they should file charges for the new claims.

Sen. Teresita Valdehueza said that the abuse was the reason she left the church in 1999, after 19 years of participation.

“Sleeping beside a man I believed to be chosen by God was for me then a great privilege, an opportunity for a sinner like me,” she said.

“But what happened next broke my faith and trust.” After turning off the light, he hugged me, took off my clothes, and raped me without saying a word.

Valdehueza, who was crying as she talked about what happened, also said that she had to live alone and fast for seven months as “punishment for her sins.”

Another former member, Yulya Tartova, said that Quiboloy forced her to have sex with him. “If you tell him I don’t want it, he’ll tell you that you didn’t get past your flesh.” Someone from Ukraine named Tartova told them, “You will go to hell if you don’t obey.”

Quiboloy was caught last month after thousands of cops searched his huge compound in Davao City in the south. He has said he is not guilty of several crimes, including sexually abusing a child.

Quiboloy has been friends with former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for a long time. He is on the “most wanted” list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US because he is accused of running a sex-trafficking business that threatened young victims with “eternal damnation” and physical abuse.

Former President Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, have said that the arrest of Quiboloy was an abuse of power and violation of Quiboloy’s rights. This has made things worse between the Duterte family and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government.