Apollo Quiboloy

Quiboloy was born on April 25, 1950[5] in Davao City, and is the youngest of nine children of Kapampangans José Quibóloy y Turla and María Carreón y Quinto (born December 28, 1913).[6][7] Both his parents were natives of Lubao, Pampanga, and had migrated to Davao following the end of the Second World War to find better jobs.

Quiboloy was a member of the United Pentecostal Church,[8] a Oneness Pentecostal denomination, until he established the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church. Apollo Quiboloy's father, José, was already a Protestant (a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance) but converted to Oneness Pentecostalism with four sons, who all became preachers and leaders in the United Pentecostal Church of the Philippines (UPCP), the largest Filipino Oneness Pentecostal Church, which is affiliated to the U.S.-based United Pentecostal Church International. Apollo became president of the powerful UPCP youth organization in 1974, but was expelled from UPCP in 1979 for unorthodox teachings. He repented, apologized, and was accepted back into the fold in 1980 as pastor of the Agdao Church in Davao City, one of the historical UPCP churches. In 1985, Apollo was put again under investigation by UPCP for his arrogant attitudes towards other pastors. Rather than submitting to trial, he left UPCP with some 15 followers on September 1, 1985, and started his own denomination.[9]

Quiboloy is the founding leader and Executive Pastor of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name founded on September 1, 1985.[10] He began preaching in the slums of Villamor, Agdao, Davao City with only 15 members. He has received critical responses to his claims of being the "Appointed Son of God".[11][12][13]

The sect's main Cathedral is located along Buhangin National Highway in Davao City.

His followers refer to their community as a "Kingdom Nation." They claim about 2 million "Kingdom citizens" abroad and 4 million in the Philippines.[7] On weekdays, members hold bible sessions and prayer services. On Sundays, a "Global Worship" is held at the Cathedral in Buhangin District. In 2000, Quiboloy founded José María College, named after his parents.[7][14]

Quiboloy has claimed to possess divine powers, claiming to have stopped the 2019 Cotabato earthquakes at his command and said that the public should thank him for the act.[15] He has publicly said that he did not do the same to stop the onslaught of Typhoon Kammuri (Tisoy) in response to those critical of his earlier claim in stopping the Cotabato earthquakes.[16]

Quiboloy (right) conversing with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (left) while on board a plane bound for Davao City.

Quiboloy anointed Gilbert Teodoro as the next president in the 2010 Philippine presidential election. "Tonight let it be known to all Filipinos that the Almighty Father has appointed the president of this nation. He is no other than Gilbert 'Gibo' Teodoro", Quiboloy told thousands of cheering followers.[18] Teodoro finished fourth in the election with 4,095,839 votes (or 11.33%) to which Quiboloy responded, "I myself am a little bit disturbed with the reports of fraud and cheating in the last elections. Even I am asking where did the votes of the Kingdom go? What happened to our votes when we were supposed to be solid for Gibo?"[19]

In the 2016 national elections, Quiboloy and the members of Kingdom of Jesus Christ endorsed the presidential candidacy of the pastor's close friend, Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.[20][21] Quiboloy also lent his private jet and helicopter to be used in Duterte's presidential campaign.[22]

Allegations of Brainwashing by a Former Church Member

Quiboloy has been sued by a former church member for allegedly brainwashing and holding her young daughter against her will.[23][24]

Dispute with the New People's Army

The communist New People's Army (NPA) has accused Quiboloy of being behind the massacre of K'lata-Bagobos leader Datu Domingo Diarog and his family on April 29, 2008, for allegedly refusing to sell two hectares of their property for ₱50,000 to Quiboloy and his sect. The property is within the 700-hectare ancestral domain claimed by the Bagobo people in Tugbok and is adjacent to Quiboloy's walled "prayer mountain" in Tamayong. Diarog's widow said followers of Quiboloy had threatened to evict them from the land and her relatives were even offered a ₱20,000 bounty for Diarog's head.[25] Quiboloy, however, said the charges were "totally false and baseless, if not ridiculous."[26]

While Quiboloy has branded the rebels "mga anak ni Satanas" ("Satan's offspring"), the NPA has declared him a "warlord in the service of the Gloria Arroyo administration's policies against the peasants and indigenous peoples."[27][28] Police investigator Ireneo Dalogdog, head of the Tugbok police office, said he had been receiving reports that Diarog was being harassed by armed men associated with Quiboloy, and that Diarog's farmhouse had earlier been razed three times.[25]

2020 ABS-CBN Shutdown

In November 2019, Quiboloy was made fun of by Vice Ganda in It’s Showtime! for his ability of stopping the series of earthquakes in Mindanao in 2019 just by exclaiming, “Stop!”. Vice jokingly said through challenging Quiboloy, to also stop the longest running primetime television show Ang Probinsyano, which has been airing on TV for at least 5 years already.

Quiboloy responded calmly in an interview that Vice Ganda should not wait for karma to strike on him because of his boastful and mocking attitude. Although the church leader accepted the challenge, he said that Vice should not test his ability for stopping the earthquake because he might also “stop the whole network that airs Ang Probinsyano in 4 months’ time”, he added. Together with Quiboloy who stood by him, was a church member news anchor from Sonshine Media Network, Inc. who also said in an interview that “not all jokes are funny” and that the public must “respect his own beliefs”.

True enough, on May 5, 2020, the National Telecommunications Commission legally ordered ABS-CBN to cease its TV and radio broadcasting after their 25-year broadcast franchise expired the previous day, May 4. The station then officially signed off on 7:52pm, local time the same day.

• Kingdom Of Jesus Christ Thy Name Above Every Name
• Kingdom Radio
• KJC King Dome
• Pinas The Filipino's Global Newspaper
• SMNI News Channel
• Sonshine Media Network International
• Sonshine Sports Management
• Sonshine Radio

• Apollo Quiboloy – Official website
• Kingdom of Jesus Christ
• Sonshine Philippines Movement