Philippine authorities arrest church leader charged with sex trafficking

An influential Filipino pastor charged with sex trafficking who had been a longtime ally of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested by authorities, the government said.

Department of Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos announced the arrest of Apollo Quiboloy in a brief social media post on Sunday. He did not say where the pastor was arrested.

But the self-proclaimed “owner of the universe” and “appointed son of God” was believed to be hiding in a bunker at a sprawling compound owned by his church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), in the southern city of Davao, Duterte’s stronghold.

In a press conference, Nicolas Torre, regional police director in Davao, confirmed the arrest of Quiboloy. He said he was informed that Quiboloy surrendered to authorities.

In June this year, the Philippine Department of Justice charged the pastor with sex abuse prompting a court to issue his arrest warrant. Five other members of his church were also charged with qualified human trafficking and other acts of child abuse.

Earlier on Sunday, the government deployed at least 3,000 police officers to the church compound, where authorities have been conducting an operation for the last two weeks.

From aljazeera