<p>Manila: Philippine celebrity pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed "Appointed Son of God", pleaded not guilty on Friday to a charge of sex trafficking, his lawyer said.</p><p>"He is innocent," lawyer Israelito Torreon told reporters after an arraignment in Manila. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for October, Torreon said.</p><p>Quiboloy is also due to enter his plea later on Friday to charges of child abuse before another court.</p><p>"It is our firm belief that the truth regarding the alleged criminal acts of Apollo C. Quiboloy and his co-accused will ultimately be disclosed," Joahna Paula Domingo, a co-counsel of the alleged victim, said in a statement released ahead of the morning arraignment.</p><p>"It is worthy to note that these cases have been filed in 2019 and we have long been seeking justice for the complainant since then," she said.</p><p>Quiboloy and four other co-accused arrived in a police minibus around 45 minutes before his scheduled arraignment. Handcuffed and in an orange detainee shirt, the preacher was almost unrecognisable underneath a bulletproof helmet and vest.</p>.Necrophilia in UP: Man charged under NSA for killing two women, having sex with their corpses.<p>Quiboloy, who is facing a raft of charges in the Philippines and the United States including sex trafficking, money laundering and child abuse, was arrested on Sunday after a weeks-long search of his church's sprawling 30-hectare (74-acre) compound by more than 2,000 security personnel.</p><p>When asked by a reporter as he arrived at court what his message to followers was, he said "tatag lang, tatag lang”, Filipino words for 'stay strong, stay strong'.</p><p>Quiboloy is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where church leaders hold heavy sway in politics. He is a longtime friend of former president Rodrigo Duterte.</p>
<p>Manila: Philippine celebrity pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed "Appointed Son of God", pleaded not guilty on Friday to a charge of sex trafficking, his lawyer said.</p><p>"He is innocent," lawyer Israelito Torreon told reporters after an arraignment in Manila. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for October, Torreon said.</p><p>Quiboloy is also due to enter his plea later on Friday to charges of child abuse before another court.</p><p>"It is our firm belief that the truth regarding the alleged criminal acts of Apollo C. Quiboloy and his co-accused will ultimately be disclosed," Joahna Paula Domingo, a co-counsel of the alleged victim, said in a statement released ahead of the morning arraignment.</p><p>"It is worthy to note that these cases have been filed in 2019 and we have long been seeking justice for the complainant since then," she said.</p><p>Quiboloy and four other co-accused arrived in a police minibus around 45 minutes before his scheduled arraignment. Handcuffed and in an orange detainee shirt, the preacher was almost unrecognisable underneath a bulletproof helmet and vest.</p>.Necrophilia in UP: Man charged under NSA for killing two women, having sex with their corpses.<p>Quiboloy, who is facing a raft of charges in the Philippines and the United States including sex trafficking, money laundering and child abuse, was arrested on Sunday after a weeks-long search of his church's sprawling 30-hectare (74-acre) compound by more than 2,000 security personnel.</p><p>When asked by a reporter as he arrived at court what his message to followers was, he said "tatag lang, tatag lang”, Filipino words for 'stay strong, stay strong'.</p><p>Quiboloy is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where church leaders hold heavy sway in politics. He is a longtime friend of former president Rodrigo Duterte.</p>