We associate the word “pastoral” with green pastures and shepherding, with church-related ministries and such that look after “the last, the least, and the lost.” It also conjures up bucolic scenes, flowing streams and bird sounds such as evoked by Beethoven’s famous “Pastoral Symphony” that is so calming in parts. Think also of the maidens in National Artist Fernando Amorsolo’s rural scenes, they with the innocent allure captured on canvas.
Then suddenly, or not quite suddenly, we hear the word “pastoral” associated with sexual abuse of minors. The word is used in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founded and headed by Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy to refer to those who do varied tasks for him and his “kingdom.” Last Tuesday, four former KOJC “pastorals” testified at a hearing of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality headed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros. I watched the proceedings online. The senator had also been busy investigating an abusive cult.
If I used the phrase “not quite suddenly” in the second paragraph it is because I had been watching KOJC’s Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) every now and then since it began airing on TV many years ago. Garish studio sets, female choir members (some Caucasians) in kitschy uniform dresses (they travel the world over with Quiboloy), a big band/symphony orchestra. The works. And then the “appointed Son of God” (how Quiboloy calls himself) would appear. He couldn’t seem to stop recalling how God called him from out of the wilderness of Tamayong and the rest is history. Alarm bells!
Why my interest? Religious affairs are among my journalistic beats—papal visits, family feud in the Iglesia ni Cristo, El Shaddai, Caryana, Children of God, assassinated members of the clergy, militant church women, cult-like movements, sexual abuses by clerics, among many. One of my published works, “You Can’t Interview God: Church Women and Men in the News” (Anvil, 2013) is a collection of my feature articles from this important reportorial beat.
Quiboloy is former president Rodrigo Duterte’s spiritual adviser, whatever that means, and has a following here and abroad who raise funds for him through solicitation, also a pastoral duty of young recruits who go out to the streets, a witness said. Duterte could use Quiboloy’s personal jet and other posh modes of transport at his bidding. Quiboloy’s SMNI had been airing tirades against perceived Duterte critics by “Red-tagging” or linking them with communist rebels so they end up on the military watch list. The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, a Duterte brainchild, had regular airing on SMNI. The Davao-based network was recently called out and slapped a suspension for airing false information against House Speaker Martin Romualdez but violated the said suspension which could jeopardize its franchise. Quiboloy is facing cases in the United States for human trafficking and sexual abuse and is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list. Whether or not he will be extradited is another story. Meanwhile, he must face the music in the home country as more victims could be coming out of the woodwork.
The KOJC headquarters on the scenic foothills of Mount Apo is paradise on earth for many who dwell therein. How he acquired the property is another story. But is it really paradise? Ukrainians Sofia and Nina, Filipinos Amanda, Jerome (not their real names) and US-based Arlene Stone who testified at the hearing said that behind KOJC’s breathtaking headquarters are goings-on that are allegedly criminal in nature, the antithesis of the godliness that Quiboloy preaches. All five alleged had been abused as minors—forced sex, beatings, etc. Also at the hearing was American Stephen Wood who had provided shelter to ex-KOJC pastorals from Ukraine and Brazil.
Reading from her written account, Amanda recalled how, when she was a minor, a Quiboloy aide summoned her to do massage on the pastor and ordered her to bathe, brush her teeth, and blow-dry her hair. He had a favorite shampoo scent, she was told. And then it began—a detailed for-adults-only account that a petrified minor could not escape from. I wish Hontiveros had asked the witnesses if Quiboloy used a condom.
The Senate has issued a subpoena for Quiboloy to appear at a hearing but last Wednesday, he furiously denied the allegations and said he would rather answer in a court of law. He called his accusers “bogus witnesses.”
Learn more about how religious cults operate. Watch the Netflix docu series “Wild Wild Country” which is about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later known as Osho) who started his ashram in Pune, India. While in Pune decades ago, I dropped by the place out of curiosity and to find someone’s daughter who was there. He would later build a huge commune-like Rajneeshpuram in Oregon, USA and attract thousands of gullible seekers many of whom ended up abused and confused.
I have written about cults a number of times in this paper, the last of which was “Cults and ‘divinely appointed’ cult leaders,” Dec. 16, 2021. Remember that Adolf Hitler, too, had a cult-like following.
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