A Makati City court has issued an extradition warrant of arrest and a Hold Departure Order against Pastor Apollo Carreon Quiboloy and two other individuals in connection with an extradition case filed by the United States government.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said the Regional Trial Court Branch 145 issued the orders on Nov. 12, a day after the department filed a petition for extradition on behalf of the US government.

The case, docketed as R-MKT-26-02823-SP, also names Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Helen Panilag as respondents.

The court found probable cause that the three individuals were the persons named in the corresponding foreign arrest warrants and indictments, that the charges against them constituted extraditable offenses, and that they committed the alleged offenses.

The Hold Departure Orders were issued to prevent the three respondents from leaving the Philippines.

The US government is seeking their extradition to face charges involving international human trafficking, sex trafficking, conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling.

According to previous reports, a US federal grand jury indicted Quiboloy in 2021 over allegations involving sex trafficking through force, fraud and coercion, including the sex trafficking of children, as well as conspiracy and bulk cash smuggling.

Under the Rules on Extradition Proceedings, the respondents must first be arrested before the court can personally serve them with summons, along with copies of the extradition petition and its supporting documents.

Upon receipt of the summons, they will have 15 days to file a verified answer before the court.

The DOJ has previously clarified that extradition proceedings are not criminal trials and do not determine the guilt or innocence of the respondents. Their criminal liability, if any, will be determined by the courts in the country seeking their extradition.