The United States has formally asked the Philippines to extradite Apollo Quiboloy. The request was sent through the Department of Foreign Affairs to the Department of Justice in July.
Quiboloy is already in Philippine custody. He is being tried here on human trafficking and child abuse charges, which he has denied. That leaves the government with a difficult question: should the Philippine cases finish first, or should it ask the courts to let the United States prosecute him temporarily?
I first assumed that his local cases settled the issue. Then I read Article 11 of the extradition treaty between the Philippines and the United States. It gives the Philippines two possible routes when a person is already being prosecuted here.
The government may postpone extradition until the Philippine prosecution is finished and any sentence has been served. If the extradition request is granted, it may also temporarily surrender the accused for prosecution in the United States, under conditions agreed upon by both countries, and require his return afterward.
The treaty does not make temporary surrender automatic. The legal process still has to be completed, and the Philippine courts handling Quiboloy's cases have a role. It does mean that pending cases here do not end the discussion by themselves.
THE PHILIPPINE CASES CANNOT BE BRUSHED ASIDE
There are complainants in the Philippines, cases filed under Philippine law and courts already hearing them. Sending Quiboloy abroad could affect schedules, witnesses and the progress of those trials. Filipino complainants should not be pushed to the back of the line simply because another country also wants to prosecute him.
That was the government's position in September 2024. The Department of Justice said Quiboloy should be tried here first and, if convicted, serve his sentence before any US extradition request was granted. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also said the Philippine cases had to come first.
There was no formal US request before the government at the time. There is one now, so the administration must decide whether to keep the same sequence or consider temporary surrender.
For ordinary Filipinos, this is about whether the justice system can protect complainants here while following the legal process agreed upon with the United States. A clear explanation would allow the public to judge whether the order of prosecution follows the law and the needs of the cases.
THE 2025 CONFUSION STILL NEEDS AN EXPLANATION
The public heard conflicting accounts about the request last year. In August 2025, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said documents had already been sent. The Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs said they had not received a formal request. Romualdez later said the formal request was still forthcoming.
Those statements can all be true if the 2025 papers were drafts, supporting documents or preliminary communications that had not yet become the formal diplomatic request required by the extradition process. The problem is that the government never clearly told the public what those documents actually were.
The request transmitted in July 2026 is different: it is the formal request. It is now before the DOJ and the Philippine courts that are trying Quiboloy's local cases.
A REQUEST DOES NOT PUT HIM ON A PLANE
The existence of the request does not mean Quiboloy can be transferred immediately. The DOJ must review it, the legal requirements must be tested and the courts handling his Philippine cases must approve the next steps. The Associated Press reported, citing two senior Philippine officials, that approval is needed from both courts trying his local cases.
Quiboloy can contest the process through his lawyers. Disputes over the treaty, his local cases and his rights could delay any transfer even if the government supports it.
Those stages are not interchangeable. A DOJ review means the executive branch is still checking the request. A court filing places the next decision before a judge. A defense challenge means Quiboloy is using the remedies available to him. A decision to finish the Philippine trials first would be a policy choice allowed by the treaty.
THE ANSWER WE HAVE SO FAR
For now, he remains here because his Philippine cases are still being tried, the courts have not approved his transfer and the government has not publicly said that it will pursue temporary surrender.
That answer may change as the DOJ reviews the formal request. The treaty provides a choice. The government now has to say whether it will seek temporary surrender or defer extradition until the Philippine cases are finished, and identify the next legal step.