PRESIDENT Marcos will have the final say on the possible extradition to the US of cult leader Apollo Quiboloy, who is facing large-scale human trafficking charges.
In a press briefing on Monday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said concerned government agencies are now studying the issue and are expected to submit their recommendations soon.
‘We spoke with the President earlier, and he said that this needs to be studied carefully, but an announcement regarding his decision on the matter will be made in a couple of weeks,’ she said in Filipino.
‘He will provide instructions on what needs to be done regarding this matter,’ she added.
Castro assured that the decision of the President on the issue will go through the necessary process and will have legal basis.
The Department of Justice said it is now evaluating if there will be any legal impediment on the US request for the extradition of Quiboloy.
Castro said among the options being considered by the Marcos administration is to keep the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in the country while the hearings against him are ongoing in local courts.
The second option, she said, is for the government to temporarily suspend the said hearings and to send Quiboloy to the US.
Last week, DOJ confirmed the US government has officially requested for the extradition of Quiboloy who was indicted in California for sex trafficking of minors, visa fraud, and bulk cash smuggling in 2021.
Manila signed an Extradition Treaty with Washington in 1994.
Quiboloy also has a pending qualified human trafficking in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Pasig and a sexual abuse and maltreatment case in the RTC in Quezon City.