THE Department of Justice (DOJ) is reviewing six voluminous batches of supporting documents transmitted by the US government in connection with its extradition request for Apollo Quiboloy and two ranking officials of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC).
State Counsel Dennis Arvin Chan confirmed that the DOJ is examining the documents that were received through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“The documents that we received from the DFA were quite voluminous. Each respondent would have six batches of envelopes containing supporting documents. So, we have to go through each of those,” Chan said.
The two other individuals named in the formal extradition request, alongside Quiboloy, were Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Helen Panilag.
Both were high-ranking administrators of the KOJC and were featured alongside Quiboloy on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
The US Department of Justice has filed a superseding indictment against the three respondents, alleging that they played vital roles in managing the financial and logistical operations of the church.
Dandan, identified as KOJC’s international administrator, has been accused of directly overseeing church operations in the United States that coerced members into soliciting funds for a fraudulent charity.
The proceeds, according to US authorities, were funneled to support the lavish lifestyles of the church’s leadership.
Alongside Quiboloy, Dandan is individually named in substantive counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.
Panilag, a former high-ranking church administrator, is wanted by US federal authorities for her alleged role in tracking global financial data and orchestrating visa and marriage fraud schemes that enabled KOJC fundraisers to remain in the US year-round.
Under the Philippine-US Extradition Treaty, the DOJ must assess whether the offenses constitute dual criminality — meaning they are crimes in both countries — and ensure that the subjects will not face capital punishment in the US before forwarding the request to a local Regional Trial Court.
Chan emphasized that while the DOJ is working expeditiously, it is equally committed to ensuring that no steps are skipped or shortcuts taken.
“We have to make sure that everything is compliant with the Philippine extradition law as well as the extradition treaty with the United States,” Chan said.
“As to the timeline, I do not want to give any specific or fixed timetable, but we understand that this is an issue of public interest. We will just try to hasten our action on this because I know that the public is keenly and closely monitoring the development,” he added.
The DOJ has maintained that it would make sure that Quiboloy will not face capital punishment should he be convicted in the United States.
Reiterating the government’s stance, Chan said that protecting Quiboloy from the death penalty is a key consideration in the proceedings.
