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Philippines says to cooperate if US seeks extradition of Duterte ally Quiboloy

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="President Rodrigo Duterte shares a light moment with the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name Founder and Executive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy while on board a plane bound for Davao City on Oct. 5, 2019. King Rodriguez, Presidential Photo/File" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/tvpatrol/11/13/duterte-moscow-depature-mnib-13.jpg"/><figcaption>President Rodrigo Duterte shares a light moment with the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name Founder and Executive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy while on board a plane bound for Davao City on Oct. 5, 2019. <em>King Rodriguez, Presidential Photo/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA— The Philippine government said on Friday it would &quot;cooperate&quot; if the United States seeks the extradition of President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s friend and adviser pastor Apollo Carreon Quiboloy over sex-trafficking charges. </p><p>US prosecutors on Thursday alleged girls and young women were coerced to have sex with Quiboloy, founder of a church called Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The sex-trafficking operation allegedly threatened victims as young as 12 with &quot;eternal damnation&quot; and physical abuse if they refused to do &quot;night duty&quot; for the pastor.. </p><p>“Ang bansang Pilipinas naman po ay laging nagko-cooperate pagdating sa extradition or processes of extradition,” said Duterte’s acting spokesman Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles. </p><p>“We will cooperate if magkaroon man ng ganyan (extradition request). Kung sino man ‘yan, magko-cooperate po ang Pilipinas,” he said in a press briefing. <br/> <br/>(The Philippines always cooperates when it comes to extradition or processes of extradition. We will cooperate if there is an extradition request. Whoever that concerns, the Philippines will cooperate.)</p><p>But Nograles said the extradition issue was still “speculative.”</p><p>Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said his agency &quot;has not received any request for extradition&quot; from its US counterpart or Washington&#x27;s State Department. </p><p>&quot;No sex trafficking charges have been filed or are pending in the Philippines against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy involving the same factual circumstances as those in the recent US indictment,&quot; Guevarra said. </p><p>&quot;A complaint for rape, however, was filed against him last year in Davao City, but the same was dismissed. That dismissal is now on appeal with the DOJ,&quot; he added. </p><p>Asked whether or not Quiboloy would remain as Duterte&#x27;s spiritual adviser, Nograles said, “With regard to mga personal relationships ni Pangulo with other people… hayaan na lang po natin si Pangulo magsalita tungkol d’yan.”</p><p>(Let us just wait for the President to speak about that.)</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/08/21/duterte-says-house-gift-from-quiboloy-led-to-graft-allegations">Duterte says house gift from Quiboloy led to graft allegations</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/18/21/look-duterte-visits-quiboloy-in-davao-city">LOOK: Duterte visits Quiboloy in Davao City</a></li></ul><p>“Hintayin na lang po natin na dumaan sa proseso,” he said of the pastor&#x27;s indictment. </p><p>(Let us just wait for it to go through the process.)</p><p>The 74-page indictment against Quiboloy charges other church officials, including 2 US-based church administrators. </p><p>Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles said the new indictment expanded on allegations made last year against 3 church administrators based in the city. It charges 9 defendants with participating in a scheme in which church members were brought to the United States using fraudulently obtained visas and forced to solicit donations to a bogus children&#x27;s charity.</p><p>Prosecutors said the donations were used to pay for &quot;lavish lifestyles&quot; of the church leaders.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/14/20/3-quiboloy-church-leaders-indicted-in-us-for-immigration-fraud-trafficking">3 Quiboloy church leaders indicted in US for immigration fraud, trafficking</a></li></ul><p>The latest indictment adds Quiboloy and 5 other new defendants to an existing indictment filed in 2020. Prosecutors said US authorities arrested 3 of the new defendants on Thursday, but 3 others, including Quiboloy, were believed to be in the Philippines.</p><div><strong>— With a report from Reuters </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1835211" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The Philippines said it would cooperate if the US sought the extradition of President Duterte's friend Apollo Quiboloy over sex-trafficking charges. 