Though in custody on sex charges, Apollo Quiboloy still drew 80,000 followers and Duterte backing for his 75,000-seat Kingdome launch
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenSam BeltranPublished: 3:09pm, 4 Sep 2026The presence of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s youngest son at the opening of detained televangelist Apollo Quiboloy’s 75,000-seat Kingdome stadium this week offered a striking display of how ties between the Duterte family and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) have endured despite the criminal cases surrounding its founder.Observers say the lavish inauguration, attended by an estimated 80,000 people alongside Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, proved the organisation’s ability to maintain its political and institutional influence, even with its founder behind bars.The event on Tuesday also featured an official city council tribute to Quiboloy and his church.
Touted by local officials as a new architectural landmark, the Kingdome is now the world’s largest indoor arena, surpassing the 55,000-capacity Philippine Arena owned by another megachurch, the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), in Bulacan province north of Manila.
