The Appointed Son of God, as his followers call him, favours satiny white suits. The young women who surround him in photos are often clothed in the same virginal hue. Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the 74-year-old founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, is a charismatic doomsday evangelist who claims millions of followers in about 200 countries.
His sermons have drawn the faithful in Ukraine, Hong Kong, Brazil and New York. He served as spiritual adviser to Rodrigo Duterte, the powerful former president of the Philippines. And now Quiboloy, who is also known as The Owner of the Universe, is in custody after a search in the southern Philippines that enlisted thousands of security forces.
On Sunday evening, Benjamin Abalos Jr, the Philippines interior secretary, announced the fugitive preacher had been caught. The pastor’s lawyer said Quiboloy had voluntarily surrendered. Police said security forces had negotiated the surrender from the pastor’s compound.
Quiboloy is on the FBI’s most wanted list. He faces charges in the United States and at home of masterminding a human trafficking and child sex abuse ring. He has been accused of rape, including of minors.
Through his lawyers, Quiboloy has denied all the charges. The search for the fugitive pastor, to serve him a Philippine arrest warrant, is also about a megachurch that US and Philippine prosecutors say has depended on labour exploitation and the deception of people least able to afford the financi.