MindaNews fact-checked the statement of lawyer Harry Roque that Senator Risa Hontiveros has been holding committee hearings on the allegations of sexual abuse and other crimes against embattled Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, head of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, to boost the lawmaker’s reelection chances. The statement is false.
In a video apparently created on March 10 but posted on his Facebook wall on March 11 at 7:52 p.m., Roque asked Hontiveros to stop the Senate investigation on Quiboloy, claiming she has been doing it in “aid of reelection.”
He said the filing of criminal charges against Quiboloy by the Department of Justice (DOJ) will work in favor of the self-appointed Son of God, as this development means the “Senate has lost jurisdiction of the cases based on the principle of separation of powers between the legislative and the judiciary.”
“Ibig sabihin, shut up, HontiVIRUS, wala ka ng hurisdiksyon, laos ka na naman, hindi ka na pwedeng makakuha ng boto diyan sa iyong in aid of reelection na imbestigasyon na ginawa kay Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. Beh, buti nga. Tameme ka na naman. Kung hindi mo seguro binuhay ang kontrobersiya na ito sa pamamagitan ng inyong OA na mga testigo na hindi naman pinaniwalaan ng mga piskal noong unang instance, hindi na seguro mag-iisip na baliktarin ng DOJ itong kasong ito.” (emphasis supplied)
(Translation: This means, shut up, HontiVIRUS, you no longer have jurisdiction, you’re a has-been again, you can no longer earn votes from your investigation of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy that’s intended to aid your reelection. Beh, good for you. You’re dumbfounded again. If you haven’t resurrected this controversy through your overacting witnesses who were dismissed by the fiscal (prosecutor) in the previous instance, the DOJ would not have reversed the ruling on this case.)
Hontiveros was first elected in 2016 and reelected to a second term in 2022. Since the 1987 Constitution provides that senators serve only two consecutive six-year terms, her term will end on June 30, 2028, which means she won’t be a candidate for senator in 2025 and no longer eligible for reelection in May 2028.
Article VI, Section 4 of the Constitution provides: “The term of office of the Senators shall be six years and shall commence, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their election. No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of his service for the full term of which he was elected.” (emphasis supplied)
Last March 5, Hontiveros, chair of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, cited Quiboloy for contempt for defying the Senate’s subpoena for him to appear at the committee hearing that day. He had earlier snubbed the hearings twice, prompting the Senate to issue a subpoena.
Hontiveros then requested Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to order Quiboloy’s arrest “so that he may be brought to testify.”
“Yong desisyon ng DOJ na isampa ang kaso laban kay Pastor Apollo Quiboloy ay magiging dahilan para itigil ang trial by publicity laban sa kanya (The decision of the DOJ to file cases against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy would mean the trial of publicity against him should stop),” Roque said.
He said the sex trafficking and rape cases were the same cases dismissed by the Davao prosecutor’s office “for lack of evidence” but filed before the DOJ on petition for review.
Roque also said that “the filing of cases by the DOJ means Quiboloy could not be extradited to the US at this time because he is now under the jurisdiction of the Philippine courts.”
Quiboloy has been indicted in the US for sex trafficking, cash smuggling and other criminal charges. Judge Terry Hatter Jr. from the California Central has ordered the unsealing of arrest warrants against the controversial sect leader following a request from the United States Attorney Criminal Division which handles his case.
As of 11:35 a.m. on March 16, Roque’s video had 19,000 views, and had drawn 1,931 reactions, 252 shares and 267 comments. His page has 1.5 million followers as of the same date.
A portion of the same video, which included Roque’s statement that the Senate committee hearings are merely “in aid of reelection” for Hontiveros, was shared on March 12 on the BANAT BY YouTube channel, which has 746,000 subscribers. As of 4:00 pm on March 12, it had 11,319 views, 917 reactions and 147 comments. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)
