INQUIRER file photo / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — Pastor Apollo Quiboloy has refuted the sexual abuse allegations made by former members of his religious sect.
Quiboloy made his denial in a 36-minute video statement on Wednesday.
The televangelist said he is only being accused of rape because he rejected the women who were “fighting over” him.
Quiboloy is the founder and leader of the Davao-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC).
He alleged the women who are supposedly maligning him are suffering from what he called a “Potiphar’s wife syndrome.”
“Ako po ay hindi nag-asawa. Ngayon, inaakusahan ako ng napakaraming babae,” he said.
(I did not marry. Now, I am being accused by so many women.)
“Ito po ang kasalanan ko: Pinayaman ako ng Panginoong Diyos. Akala nila sa akin, single ako, kaya pinag-aagawan ako,” he went on.
(This is my fault: The Lord God made me rich. They thought I was single, and they’re fighting over me.)
“Pagkatapos na ako’y maghi-hindi, mapapahiya. Ibabaliktad nila sa akin,” he recalled.
(And when I say no, they will be humiliated and will avenge against me.)
“Iyan ang tinatawag kong Potiphar’s wife syndrome,” he continued.
(That’s what I call Potiphar’s wife syndrome.)
Potiphar’s wife, Iempsar, is a biblical figure in the book of Genesis who falsely accused Joseph of sexual abuse after he rejected her sexual advances.
Quiboloy said it took him some time to respond to the allegations because he did not want his accusers to be embarrassed.
His accusers were supposedly his personal assistants or “pastrorals.”
“I have not spoken like this because these women will be humiliated. They are fighting. It is difficult to say, but they are fighting because of me,” he said in Filipino.
The religious leader also said that his accusers were trying to wed him for his money.
“They called their parents and said they will become rich if this happens,” Quiboloy recounted.
“They were humiliated. Now they are bought and are twisting the stories,” the televangelist said.
The preacher did not show his face in the video.
In response to his video statement, Senator Risa Hontiveros told Quiboloy not to “play victim.”
Hontiveros is leading the Senate inquiry on the religious leader’s alleged offenses.
During a Senate hearing on January 23, three of Quiboloy’s former followers accused the pastor of repeatedly raping them for years.
His followers included two Ukranian women.
Quiboloy is also facing complaints in the United States where he was declared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation a wanted person in 2022.
FBI made the move following the preacher’s involvement in sex trafficking, among other felonies.
The two chambers of Congress each summoned Quiboloy to appear in their hearings on the allegations against him.
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