DAVAO CITY, Philippines鈥擳elevangelist Apollo Quiboloy threatened to lead a revolution should presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte get cheated in the May 9 general elections.
鈥淚f there is cheating there, will be a revolution. I will lead a people鈥檚聽 revolution,鈥� Quiboloy, founder of the Davao-based The Kingdom of Jesus聽 Christ, told reporters here on Thursday.
Earlier, Quiboloy said there were reports from overseas Filipino workers聽 (OFWs) that when they cast their ballot under the absentee voting system abroad, the voter鈥檚 receipts did not reflect their choices.
Quiboloy said cheating Duterte would be obvious, arguing that in the Davao mayor鈥檚 rallies, thousands of people show up.
Quiboloy supports Duterte and has lent him his private plane and helicopter for the campaign.
The religious sect leader said only fraud could erode Duterte鈥檚 chances at winning,聽 citing the mayor鈥檚 wide lead of 12 percent against his nearest rival in presidential surveys.聺
The people, especially his supporters, will now allow Duterte to get cheated,聺 Quiboloy warned.
鈥淚f you cheat Duterte, (who has) a 12-percentage point ahead of his opponents, there will be a revolution. I will lead a revolution of the people if that happens. I will not allow it,鈥� he reiterated.
鈥淗e will win this election. The surveys are not lying, the surveys are legitimate,鈥� he added.
He said he had also expected that more issues would be raised against Duterte, even worse than Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV鈥檚 claim that the mayor hid multimillion peso deposits in the Bank of the Philippine Islands.
The group鈥檚 online site apolloquiboloy.com, claims Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy is 鈥渢he Appointed Son of God in these last days.鈥� The pastor oversees Sonshine Media Network International, a television network based in Davao City. The group has established a 鈥淣ew Jerusalem鈥� at the foothills of Mt. Apo in Davao.
It may be recalled that Quiboloy anointed Gilbert Teodoro as the next president in the 2010 Philippine presidential election. Teodoro, however, finished fourth in the election which brought President Benigno Aquino to power with over 15 million votes.