A Philippine court has issued an extradition warrant of arrest against detained preacher Apollo C. Quiboloy, founder of the Davao-based religious congregation Kingdom of Jesus Christ, moving the United States a step closer to securing his transfer to face charges involving human trafficking and sex trafficking.

The Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 145 issued the warrant on Nov. 12, three days after the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed an extradition petition on behalf of the US government, the agency said in a statement on Friday. The petition covers three individuals, including Mr. Quiboloy, and was filed to facilitate their extradition to Washington.

According to the DoJ, the court found probable cause that Mr. Quiboloy was the person named in the corresponding foreign arrest warrant and indictment, that the offenses charged were extraditable, and that he committed the alleged offenses. The court likewise issued a hold departure order to prevent him from leaving the Philippines.

The petition was filed under the 1994 extradition treaty between the Philippines and the United States, the standing framework that governs requests by either government for the surrender of individuals facing charges in the other's courts. Extradition proceedings run separately from the criminal cases Mr. Quiboloy faces before Philippine courts, meaning his domestic trials continue in parallel with the extradition process.

The DoJ said that once notified of the implementation of the arrest warrant, the court would personally serve Mr. Quiboloy with a summons, along with copies of the extradition petition and its attachments. He would then have 15 days from receipt to file a verified answer, after which the court will weigh the petition and his response in ruling on whether he may be surrendered to US authorities.

The US government is seeking Mr. Quiboloy's extradition on charges that include international human trafficking, sex trafficking, conspiracy and bulk cash smuggling.

Mr. Quiboloy remains incarcerated at the Pasig City Jail while undergoing trial for non-bailable qualified human trafficking charges before a Pasig RTC, alongside separate child abuse cases in Quezon City.

Justice spokesman Raphael Niccolo L. Martinez said state prosecutors had completed presenting evidence in the qualified human trafficking case against Mr. Quiboloy before the Pasig court. "The prosecution will now file its formal offer of evidence, after which the defense will be given an opportunity to comment," Mr. Martinez told reporters in a Viber message.

In the separate child abuse case under Republic Act No. 7610 pending before the Quezon City RTC, the prosecution was still presenting its evidence, he added.

Senator Ana Theresia "Risa" N. Hontiveros-Baraquel welcomed the extradition warrant, citing her role in leading Senate hearings into the allegations of abuse involving Mr. Quiboloy. In 2024, the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality conducted inquiries into the allegations against the preacher.

"The world is listening. Quiboloy can no longer escape accountability," she said in a statement. "Now, the process must move forward without delay," she added.

— with a report from Erika Mae P. Sinaking, BusinessWorld