Philippine celebrity pastor denies accusations of sexual abuse

MANILA (Reuters) - A Philippine preacher accused of sexually abusing his followers spoke out on Wednesday for the first time since being indicted for trafficking and other criminal charges, denying new allegations of wrongdoing on top of existing charges.

Apollo Quiboloy, the self-styled "Appointed Son of God" who founded the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church, faced off with former church members for the first time on Wednesday in a senate hearing that probed his alleged misdeeds.

In the public senate inquiry, he was accused of grooming children into sex, forcing a teenager to stop going to school to sell food to fund his church, and obliging workers to flout government rules while working long hours to construct a building for his media firm.

Quiboloy, 74, denied the claims, saying: "There is no truth to what they said." He challenged the accusers to file charges for the new allegations.

Teresita Valdehueza told senators she left the church after 19 years of membership in 1999 due to the alleged abuse.

"Sleeping beside a man I believed to be chosen by God was for me then a great privilege, an opportunity for a sinner like me," Valdehueza said.

"But what followed shattered my sense of faith and trust. Without a word, after turning off the light, he embraced me, undressed me, and violated me with his lustful act."

Valdehueza, who fought back tears while recounting her ordeal, added she was forced into solitude and mandated to fast for seven months as "punishment for her sins".

Yulya Tartova, another former member, also accused Quiboloy of coercing her to have sex with him. "If you say I do not want, he will say you did not overcome your flesh. If you will not obey, you will go to hell," said Tartova, a Ukrainian.

Quiboloy was arrested last month after thousands of police searched his sprawling compound in the southern city of Davao. He has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, including sexually abusing a child.

Quiboloy, a long-time friend of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, figures on the "most wanted" list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States where he was charged with running a sex-trafficking operation that threatened young victims with "eternal damnation" and physical abuse.

Former president Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, have accused police of rights violations and abuse of power in arresting Quiboloy, widening the rift between the Duterte family and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's administration.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Christina Fincher)