Philippine president promises not to give special treatment to prominent pastor | Crime news

Apollo Quiboloy's lawyer says the pastor has turned himself in, contradicting police claims that he was arrested during a raid on a sprawling church compound.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has promised that evangelical preacher Apollo Quiboloy will not receive any special treatment following his arrest.

A weeks-long manhunt ended over the weekend when Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed “son of God,” was arrested on charges of child and sexual abuse as well as human trafficking.

The preacher, a longtime ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte whose sect has millions of followers, is also wanted in the United States for sex trafficking and cash smuggling.

“There is no special treatment,” Marcos told reporters on Monday. “We will not violate any of his rights and ignore any of his wishes, whatever they may be.”

“We will demonstrate once again that our justice system in the Philippines is active, vibrant and functional,” the President added.

Quiboloy denied all the charges against him but went into hiding after two courts issued arrest warrants against him in April.

He also refused to appear before the Senate to investigate alleged abuses of power in his church.

After months of hunting the pastor, the Marcos government dispatched more than 2,000 police officers to search his sprawling church compound in southern Davao City, where it suspected he was hiding in a bunker.

Philippine police spokesman Jean Fajardo said on Sunday that Quiboloy was arrested at the compound on Sunday.

But Quiboloy's lawyer, Israelito Torreon, disputed the government's account, saying the pastor surrendered to police and the military because he wanted to prevent the situation from escalating further.

“Quiboloy’s innocence is confirmed by the court,” Torreon told radio station DZBB.

Marcos said Quiboloy's camp had set conditions for his surrender, including a guarantee that he would not be extradited to the United States, where he faced prosecution.

But Marcos said that “imposing conditions on a refugee is not an option.”