Apollo Quiboloy’s co-accused arrested in Davao City

(1st UPDATE) Quiboloy, Paulene Canada, and four others face cases of child and sexual abuse as well as human trafficking

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine authorities have arrested one of the co-accused of fugitive doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy. 

On Friday, July 12, Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil presented Paulene Canada, who is among Quiboloy’s co-accused in a string of criminal cases.

Authorities arrested Canada on July 11 in Davao City, southern Philippines.

Aside from Quiboloy and Canada, their associates Jackielyn Roy, Cresente and Ingrid Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes also face a child abuse case. The preacher, meanwhile, faces a separate sexual abuse charge. There’s also a warrant of arrest against them for the non-bailable offense of human trafficking pending before a Pasig City court.

On April 3, a Davao City court issued a warrant or arrest against Quiboloy, Canada, and their companions for the child abuse case.

On the same day, authorities arrested Cresente Canada, the barangay chairman of Tamayong where the Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) is located. He was also said to be Quiboloy’s close aide, who served as the preacher’s driver and bodyguard. 

Paulene Canada, who served as KOJC chief financial officer; and Cemañes, a coordinator, surrendered to authorities on the same day. Canada and his other co-accused posted bail for the child abuse case, so they were temporarily released. 

Only days later, on April 11, a Pasay City court issued the arrest warrant against Quiboloy and his companions for the non-bailable offense of human trafficking. Canada was only arrested three months later. 

Quiboloy, meanwhile, remains free and currently has a P10-million bounty on his head. 

On Friday, Abalos said the bounty on Paulene Canada’s head helped in her arrest. The interior chief 

“Bago mahuli itong si Canada, may isang hindi nagpakilalang caller ang tumawag sa hotline ng Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division ng office sa Region 11 para i-report sa police na nakita niya ang isang babae na kamukha ng nasa litrato ng wanted poster na nilabas ng PNP na may reward na P1 million,” the interior chief said during a press conference. 

(Prior to Canada’s arrest, an anonymous caller reached out to the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division office of Region 11 to report to police that the caller saw a woman who looked like the one in the wanted poster released by the PNP.)

Earlier this year, the Senate ordered the preacher’s arrest for “unduly refusing to appear” before the upper chamber for the inquiry into his alleged human rights abuses. The panel probes Quiboloy’s alleged crimes and abuses. 

Aside from local cases, Quiboloy is also wanted in the United States for sexual trafficking. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in a US District Court in Santa Ana, California in 2021, and landed on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list. – Rappler.com