Senator Risa Hontiveros answers queries from members of the media during the Kapihan sa Senado forum at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net
Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday put her foot down as she insisted that televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, the founder and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ sect, should attend the Senate inquiry into allegations that he raped some of his former followers.
“In the past, Cabinet officials, lawmakers, an incumbent Senate president and even a former president have submitted to Senate subpoenas and appeared as witnesses,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“His constitutional rights, like all witnesses, [will be] respected. But he is not higher than the president, the Senate and the law,” she stressed.
Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, issued the statement after Quiboloy again challenged the panel’s authority to investigate him.
READ: Quiboloy: Not attending ‘bogus hearing’
He has also disregarded previous invitations to attend the inquiry, prompting the Senate to subpoena him for the next hearing on March 5.
“The Senate is open to hear your side. We are waiting for you,” Hontiveros said. —MARLON RAMOS