Apollo Quiboloy, head of "the Kingdom of Jesus Christ," a non-Catholic religious group and spiritual adviser of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, speaks during a press conference in Davao City in southern island of Mindanao on May 23, 2016. Manman Dejeto, AFP/File 

The camp of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy on Friday submitted its response to a show cause order on why he should not be detained by the Senate for skipping hearings on the allegations of sexual abuse against him.

In a 19-page document, Quiboloy's lawyer Melanio Elvis Balayan argued that the investigation "is not in aid of legislation but is tantamount to usurpation of judicial functions beyond the powers of the Senate.” 

He added that the resolution that sought the probe was “brazenly incriminatory” and had “categorically declared the guilt of Pastor Quiboloy for crimes being attributed to him, totally disregarding the constitutional presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”

The lawyer said Quiboloy's refusal to attend the hearing was “not a sign of disrespect to honorable Senate nor a disregard of its powers and functions but is purely based on the fact that the criminal accusations against him can only be legitimately settled before the competent courts.”

“We still believe po na yung resolution itself is incriminatory and therefore useless po para kay Pastor Quiboloy na siya ay pumunta sa Senado without sacrificing his fundamental bill of rights... Yung resolution mismo po ay sinasabi na guilty na po sa mga krimen si Pastor at ito ay patuloy niya na kino-commit,” Balayan said.

"Pangalawa po, nabanggit din po namin doon na may limitasyon ang karapatan ng Kongreso sa pag-iimbestiga at ang limitasyon na yun ay, precisely, to regulate or to control the legislator from abusing the fundamental bill of rights of resource persons or witnesses appealing thereat," he said.

Asked if Quiboloy would not appear before the Senate, Balayan said, “Hanggat nakasalang po ang aming Compliance and Show Cause Order, hihintayin po namin ang tugon ng Senado sa aming Legal Compliance at from there we will take it po kung ano ang the best legal avenue or legal actions we could take.”

“Sana po ay basahin nang mabuti ng ating mga kagalanggalang na senador yung mga legal justifications po na isinalang namin sapagkat ito po ay naaayon sa… existing jurisprudence on the powers of the Congress or the Senate in particular to conduct investigation po without violating the sacred bill of rights of resource persons or witnesses po na umaattend sa kanilang mga pagdinig,” he added. 

The office of Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who is leading the investigation, received the response of Quiboloy's camp at around 8:40 a.m., within the 48-hour window given for them to justify why he should not be detained.

US judge orders unsealing of Quiboloy arrest warrant, indictment 

Quiboloy, founder of the religious group Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), recently denied that he sexually abused female personal assistants or "pastorals", saying the women made up the accusations because he rejected them.

"Ako po ay hindi nag-asawa. Ngayon inaakusahan ako ng napakaraming babae. Eto po ang kasalanan ko. Pinayaman ako ng Panginoon. Akala nila sa akin, single ako, kaya pinag-aagawan ako. Pagkatapos na ako'y maghihinde, mapapahiya, ibabaliktad nila sa akin. 'Yan ang tinatawag kong Potiphar's wife syndrome," he said.

Quiboloy faces a separate House of Representatives investigation on the alleged franchise violations of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), a media outlet associated with him.

House lawmakers urge Quiboloy to face SMNI probe