He stood up when the police arrested the pastor of the ‘Son of God’

A standoff has erupted in the Philippines as thousands of policemen descend on a notorious compound in search of an influential priest accused of child sex trafficking among other crimes.

The police say they will not leave until they find Apollo Quiboloy who calls himself the “appointed Son of God”.

He is believed to be hiding inside his 30-hectare (75 acres) compound, which has about 40 buildings, including a cathedral, a school and a dormitory.

Authorities have been searching for Quiboloy for months. Earlier he said “he will not be caught alive”.

The police raided the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) center on Saturday night, with reports that they later used tear gas on Mr. Quiboloy’s followers who have become “unruly and violent,” Davao police spokesperson Major Catherina dela Rey told Rappler.

Hundreds of Mr Quiboloy’s supporters blocked parts of the main road trying to disrupt traffic going to the compound.

They continue to be innocent, saying that the allegations against him are false.

Another fan of the group died of a heart attack during the police raid.

Police believe Mr. Quiboloy is hiding in a basement equipped with equipment that is believed to be able to see people behind walls based on their heartbeat, Maj dela Rey said.

Mr. Quiboloy’s KOJC claims to have seven million followers and he has expanded his ministry through television, radio and social media.

He is also politically influential and works as a spiritual advisor to former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose family dominates Davao City politics.

Since Mr. Duterte stepped down in 2022, the authorities have been pursuing Mr. Quiboloy’s cases.

He is accused of smuggling his followers into the US to solicit donations for fake charities. It is said that he also wanted his female followers, some minors, to sleep with him as a religious duty.

He said the “devil” was causing his legal problems. He also said he did not want the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to “interfere” in his case.

Mr Quiboloy said in April that he was “protecting himself” by hiding from the authorities.

“I am not hiding the charges because I am guilty, that is not true, I am just defending myself,” he said.

Mr Quiboloy is the leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, a Christian sect which claims to have seven million members.

He says he once heard God whisper to him “I will use you” when he attended the event of the American pastor Billy Graham in South Korea in 1973. This led him to establish KOJC in Davao, Philippines in 1985.

Mr Quiboloy preaches from a glass table set against large pictures of his fertile mountaintop property called “The Garden of Eden Restored”.

When he is not in Davao, he has been seen traveling in his private jet.

His rise to national prominence has paralleled that of Mr. Duterte. Both started in Davao, where the former president served as mayor.

When Mr. Duterte was elected president in 2016, Mr. Quiboloy’s reputation soared. But that began to wane when Mr. Duterte left office in 2022.

Apart from his alliance with Mr. Duterte, Mr. Quiboloy also gained a lot by supporting politicians during the election.

Mr Quiboloy was a supporter of one of Duterte’s predecessors, Gloria Arroyo.

When he suggested that Arroyo choose his successor in the 2010 elections, Mr. Quiboloy said he saw the candidate’s name in a list that included the then US President Barack Obama.

In the Philippines, leaders of religious organizations and sects gain political power when they direct their followers to vote as a party, analysts say.

Election contests can be so fraught that some candidates believe the endorsement of leaders like Mr Quiboloy can make or break their campaign.

“Politics in the Philippines is a big moral exercise. So, voters look to their religious leaders for guidance,” political scientist Cleve Arguelles told BBC News.

In 2021, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Mr. Quiboloy with child sex trafficking, fraud and coercion and money laundering.

The FBI said it trafficked girls and women from the Philippines to the US, where they were forced to ask for money from a fake special agency.

He also required his female assistants, called “chaplains”, to have sex with him, the FBI said.

In January 2022, the FBI issued a wanted poster seeking information on Mr. Quiboloy’s whereabouts.

Last March, the DOJ of the Philippines charged Mr. Quiboloy with human trafficking and sexual harassment, for allegedly abusing a young woman in 2011.

Courts in the US and the Philippines have issued warrants for his arrest.

Mr Quiboloy has denied the charges against him and accused the US authorities of prematurely judging his case.