The gravest criminal charge leveled against Apollo Quiboloy is qualified human trafficking, a crime that carries no bail option.
Human trafficking, in general, is a highly severe offense on its own.
Under the law, trafficking becomes even more serious when classified as "qualified." This nonbailable offense is punishable by life imprisonment and a fine ranging from PHP 2 million to PHP 5 million.
According to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), human trafficking is deemed "qualified" under the following circumstances:
A trafficking case is classified as "qualified" under the following conditions:
- The victim is a child.
- The trafficking involves adoption under RA No. 8043 (the Inter-Country Adoption Act) with the intent of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt bondage.
- The crime is carried out by a syndicate or on a large scale.
- The perpetrator is a spouse, ascendant, parent, sibling, guardian, or someone with authority over the victim.
- The offense is committed by a public official or employee.
- The victim is recruited for prostitution involving members of the military or law enforcement.
- The perpetrator is a member of the military or law enforcement.
- The victim suffers severe harm, including death, insanity, mutilation, or HIV/AIDS infection.
- The perpetrator engages in trafficking activities over a period of 60 days or more.
- The perpetrator directs or manages the trafficking victim through another person.
The arrest of Quiboloy on September 8 highlighted the ongoing fight against exploitation, particularly of women and children, in a country where human trafficking remains widespread.
Manila Representative Bienvenido Abante Jr. highlighted that the crimes Quiboloy is accused of are "monstrous" and emphasized that "no amount of power or influence can protect him from the full extent of the law."
He added, "The time for accountability has arrived."
Quiboloy was apprehended a few weeks after police began searching the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) compound in Davao City to execute an arrest warrant related to the following charges:
- Violation of RA No. 7610, also known as the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act
- Violation of RA No. 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act
The arrest warrant for Quiboloy and five co-defendants for offenses related to child abuse was issued by the Davao City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 12 on April 1.
Less than two weeks later, the Pasig City RTC Branch 159 issued an arrest order for Quiboloy and his co-defendants for violating anti-human trafficking laws, which is a nonbailable offense.
The charges against Quiboloy were filed in March following the Department of Justice's decision to review a petition from a female victim seeking to overturn the Davao City Prosecutor’s Office's 2020 dismissal of her complaint.
According to The Exodus Road, an anti-human trafficking NGO, human trafficking ranks as the second-largest "criminal enterprise" globally, after drug trafficking, and is a significant issue in the Philippines.
“It has one of the largest victim populations globally, with an estimated 784,000 individuals living as modern-day slaves,” the report stated, noting that indigenous people, internally displaced persons, women, and children are particularly at risk.
The Philippines has enacted RA No. 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, which was later amended in 2012 by RA No. 10364, known as the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
According to the PCW, trafficking in persons is a serious human rights violation involving several interrelated elements:
- **Acts**: This includes recruiting, obtaining, hiring, providing, offering, transporting, transferring, maintaining, harboring, or receiving individuals with or without their consent or knowledge, both within and across borders.
- **Means**: These involve threats, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or position, exploitation of vulnerability, or offering bribes to control or influence a person.
- **Purpose**: The trafficking is carried out for purposes such as exploitation, prostitution, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, or organ removal.
RA No. 9208, as amended by RA No. 10364, defines these crimes and imposes penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment and fines ranging from PHP 1 million to PHP 2 million for offenses including:
- Recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, providing, or receiving individuals under false pretenses for illegal purposes.
- Matching individuals or Filipino women with foreign nationals for marriage to exploit them.
- Organizing tours or travel packages to exploit individuals for prostitution or sexual exploitation.
- Hiring or maintaining individuals for prostitution or pornography.
- Facilitating illegal adoptions.
- Using threats or force to recruit, hire, or abduct individuals for illegal activities or organ removal.
- Recruiting or abducting children for armed activities.
Despite notable progress in combating human trafficking in the Philippines, The Exodus Road emphasized that, as statistics show, it remains a significant issue.
According to the US Department of State’s “Trafficking in Persons Report: Philippines,” there were 1,802 identified victims of trafficking in 2022 and 1,277 in 2023 in the Philippines.
The US Department of State noted that the penalties for human trafficking are severe and, in the case of sex trafficking, are comparable to those for other serious crimes like rape.
In 2023, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police investigated nearly 300 cases, prosecuting 139 alleged traffickers—115 for sex trafficking and 24 for labor trafficking.
In 2022, 168 human trafficking cases were investigated, leading to the prosecution of 298 alleged traffickers—224 for sex trafficking and 62 for labor trafficking. Additionally, 12 individuals were prosecuted for other forms of exploitation.
However, the number of convictions is lower, with 86 in 2023 and 56 in 2022. Over the past two years, 129 individuals were convicted of sex trafficking, while eight were convicted of labor trafficking.
Quiboloy, indicted in the US in 2021, faces charges under Section 4(a) of the law, which criminalizes prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, and debt bondage.
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