DFA sends US extradition request for Quiboloy to DOJ

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed that it has received the formal extradition request from the United States government for detained religious leader Apollo Quiboloy, who is facing criminal charges in the US.In a statement, the DFA said it has forwarded the request to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the country's designated central authority on extradition matters, for appropriate action.The DOJ will evaluate the request to determine whether it complies with the requirements of the bilateral extradition treaty and Philippine law.Quiboloy, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, is wanted in the US on charges that include conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, sex trafficking of children, bulk cash smuggling and conspiracy related to labor trafficking. He has denied the allegations.In the Philippines, Quiboloy faces separate criminal cases, including qualified human trafficking and child abuse charges, and is under government custody.Under the country's extradition process, the DOJ first determines the sufficiency of the request before filing a petition for extradition in court. Philippine courts will then decide whether the legal requirements for extradition have been met.The proceedings are separate from any criminal cases pending against the individual in Philippine courts.The DFA's confirmation marks the formal start of the Philippine government's processing of the US request, although no timetable has yet been announced for the DOJ's review or the filing of extradition proceedings.Ferdinand Topacio, a lawyer for Quiboloy, on Friday said the US bid to extradite the televangelist is "extremely unfeasible," citing his pending criminal cases before Philippine courts.Topacio, who is also deputy spokesman for the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, said Quiboloy's legal team has not formally received a notice of any extradition request, but maintained that any move by Washington must first comply with the Philippines' extradition law, Presidential Decree 1069 and the Rules on Extradition Proceedings issued by the Supreme Court."It must be noted that the good Pastor is facing cases locally. Trumped up though they may be, nonetheless they are ongoing and Pastor Quiboloy is now under the custody of our courts. This makes extradition at this point extremely unfeasible, unless our government again chooses to meekly surrender its jurisdiction to a foreign power," Topacio said.Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez has confirmed that the US had transmitted a request to extradite Quiboloy.