Quiboloy’s bail petition denied by Pasig court

A Pasig court has denied the petitions for bail filed by detained Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and his co-accused for his qualified trafficking for sexual abuse and labor exploitation case.

In a 23-page order dated July 20, the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 159 denied the petition separately filed by Quiboloy, Sylvia Cemañes, Paulene Canada, Jackielyn Roy, Cresente Canada, and Ingrid Canada.

“At this juncture, the prosecution has sufficiently shown that the evidence of guilt against all the accused is strong on the two crimes of qualified human trafficking committed by a syndicate,” the court said.

“Thus, given these pieces of evidence against all the accused at this point which establish a great presumption of guilt for purposes of bail, the Court must deny their petitions for bail,” it added.

The Court, however, stressed that the resolution does not determine the ultimate outcome of the cases.

“The Court is merely tasked with resolving the Petitions for Bail filed by all the accused, and not with rendering a judgment on the merits of the case. There remains a long process ahead, and both parties have the opportunity to present further evidence,” it said.

When sought for comment, Atty. Israelito Torreon, the legal counsel of Quiboloy, said they will ask the court to reconsider its decision at the “soonest” possible time.

“Why? Because we like to point out that the judge may have, you know, failed to or may have not considered the cross examination that we conducted as against alias Amanda,” he said.

He also said that their camp is not involved in the online threats sent to judges of Pasig courts.

“Walang wala kaming kinalaman doon at sana kung sino man ang nasa likod nito, imbestigahan talaga at file-an ng kaso kasi nakakasama po ito sa ating hustisya,” he said.

(We have absolutely nothing to do with that and hopefully whoever is behind it will truly be investigated and charged because this harms our justice system.)

Meanwhile, the camp of the complainant welcomed the court’s ruling.

“We are so happy and grateful that the Petition for Bail of Quiboloy et al has been denied, meaning that the Honorable Court found that the evidence of guilt is strong,” private prosecutor Atty. Joahna Paula Domingo when asked for comment. 

“We are hopeful that justice is within reach,” she added.

Quiboloy is facing a non-bailable qualified human trafficking charge under Section 4(a) of Republic Act No. 9208, as amended.

The Davao City-based religious leader is also facing charges under Section 5(b) and  Section 10(a) of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act with a QC court. —VAL/RF, GMA Integrated News