By Kaela Gabriel

PHOTO: Apollo Quiboloy/Facebook

“Do not ever ever play a joke, or continue to pursue the persecution of the appointed son because the Father in heaven has already declared through the appointed son. No one can escape this."

This is what the founder of the megachurch Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, has to say last Sunday about the recent COVID-19 Omicron variant following his indictment for sex trafficking in the United States.

Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed 'son of God,' said that the Omicron variant occured due to the public's attempt of persecuting him due to his sex crime allegations along with the claim that the Delta variant was 'only an introduction' to further diseases if people continue to 'harm' him.

"You want this [pandemic] to stop? Stop persecuting, prosecuting, maligning, and falsely accusing the appointed son," Quiboloy added.

The church leader, who is also President Rodrigo Duterte's spiritual adviser, was detained twice before: in 2018 in Hawaii due to possession of guns and cash in his private plane and in 2020 in Davao due to rape, child abuse, and human trafficking. However, he was dismissed shortly in the latter.

In addition to this, in September this year, presidential aspirant Manny Pacquiao also filed cyberlibel complaints against the pastor.

Meanwhile, on Friday, December 3, four out of nine defendants from KOJC plead not guilty to the allegations that they engaged in the trafficking fraud involving Quiboloy.