Quiboloy claims he ‘stopped’ Mindanao quake

Apollo Quiboloy, an evangelist with ties to President Rodrigo Duterte, claimed that the public ought to thank him for "stopping" a deadly earthquake that struck Mindanao earlier this week.

"Ako'y umiinom lang ng kape eh, lumilindol. Sinabi ko, 'lindol huminto ka!' Huminto," Quiboloy, the leader of the religious sect called the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, said in a televised program on Wednesday.

Claiming that he had witnesses to prove his claim, Quiboloy, the self-declared "Appointed Son of God," added, "Pasalamat kayo sa 'kin, pasalamat kayo sa 'kin. Kasi kung 'di ko pina-stop 'yun, marami kayong magigiba diyan. Mamamatay kayo. Kaya pasalamat kayo ako ang nagpa-stop ng lindol."

Quiboloy would not have even mentioned his role in stopping the quake had it not been for a submitted question which also criticized him.

And it was because of these "bashers" that Mindanao was struck by earthquakes and storms.

"Tingnan mo yung mga lugar ng bashing, kawawa naman. Naawa ako sa kanila, 'di ba? Hindi ko naman, ayoko namang mapahamak ang tao. Pero ang judgment nanggagaling sa Diyos," he said.

The magnitude 6.6 earthquake that struck Mindanao on Tuesday morning left at least eight people dead.

The quake's epicenter was in Tulunan, Cotabato, which was once again struck by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake two days later. 

The latest update showed 16 people have died because of the two earthquakes. 

A longtime friend of the chief executive, Quiboloy actively campaigned for Duterte in the 2016 presidential race but was reportedly eased out of the core group after the former Davao City mayor won. 

Nevertheless, last August, Quiboloy said he believed that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte had been "chosen" by God to be president. 

However, the evangelist has had his share of controversies.

In 2018 he and six others were briefly detained in Honolulu after US customs agents found $350,000 and rifle parts inside a private plane he had boarded. 

In the same year, a Hawaii news outlet reported that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into the Quiboloy church's alleged human trafficking activities. 

The evangelist denied running a child sex ring.  — Nicole-Anne Lagrimas/DVM, GMA News