Apollo Quiboloy, a self-styled pastor indicted for sex trafficking charges in the US, officially endorsed the tandem of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Davao Mayor Sara Duterte, the current 2022 elections survey frontrunners.

Quiboloy, founder of Davao-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name (KOJC), made the endorsement on Tuesday, February 1, as the Davao mayor kicked off a motorbike ride from the Mindanao city to the northern parts of Luzon and back. 

“Marami po nagtatanong – ano ang susuportahan ng Kingdom of Jesus Christ? Ngayon na ang tamang panahon na ipaabot ko sa inyo ang aking suporta. One hundred percent ako po ay sumusuporta sa Uniteam; kasama po ang aking pinakamamahal, pinalanggang Mayor sa Davao City nga karon modagan bilang vice president,” he said at the church’s grounds in Davao City. 

(A lot of people have been asking – who will the Kingdom of Jesus Christ support? Now is the right time to express my support. One hundred percent, I’m supporting UniTeam; I’m with my beloved mayor, Sara Duterte, who is running for vice president.)  

His church claims to have over 4 million members in the Philippines and 2 million more overseas.

“UniTeam” is how Marcos Jr. and Duterte – both children of Philippine presidents – are packaging their 2022 campaign. Marcos Jr. is the only son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos while Duterte is the eldest daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, a close friend of Quiboloy. The alliance is made up of the biggest and oldest political clans in Philippine politics. 

Quiboloy, accused of abuse by former church members, claimed that Marcos Jr. and Duterte would win by a “landslide” – the same prediction he had made in relation to the older Duterte when he endorsed him in 2016.

Before predicting a Marcos Jr.-Duterte landslide victory, Quiboloy had predicted the presidential win of longtime Duterte aide Senator Bong Go, who later withdrew his bid for the presidency.

In the 2010 elections, Quiboloy endorsed former defense secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., the Lakas-CMD standard-bearer, claiming that this was based on a “vision” involving then-US president Barack Obama. “He looked at me and shook hands with me. I noticed a sign above us that said ‘GibObama,'” Quiboloy said when he announced his endorsement of Teodoro over a decade ago.

He also endorsed then-vice presidential candidate Mar Roxas in 2010, saying he had two visions involving the candidate, though he didn’t disclose them. Teodoro and Roxas lost to Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Jejomar Binay, respectively.

President Duterte’s spiritual adviser faces charges over allegations that he and other church leaders ran a sex-trafficking ring where girls and young women were threatened with “eternal damnation” and physical abuse. The charges were announced in November 2021, leading Quiboloy later that month to warn the world that the pandemic would become worse if it did not stop “persecuting, prosecuting, and maligning the appointed son of God.” He was referring to himself. 

Both Marcos Jr. and Duterte lead the latest preference surveys released by Pulse Asia in December 2021. Their tandem is also seen to be advantageous given their bailiwicks – Marcos hails from the Ilocos region while the Dutertes have solid numbers in Mindanao. – Rappler.com