FACT CHECK: Quiboloy not appointed UN peace envoy to the Middle East

Claim: The United Nations (UN) has officially appointed Filipino religious leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy as a peace envoy to the United States and Middle East. 

Rating: FALSE 

Why we fact-checked this: Several posts making this claim have been circulating on Facebook. Some present it using a news-style graphic, while others use a photo of Quiboloy in ceremonial robes.

One post from Jay Sonza, whose previous claims have been fact-checked by Rappler, has already received 1,600 reactions, 107 comments, and 251 shares as of writing. It was posted on April 1, amid the Israel-US war on Iran.

It shows a photo of Quiboloy receiving a title while wearing a doctoral gown. The post bears an identical caption, “The United Nations (UN) Appoints International Religious Leader Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy as Peace Envoy in U.S.–Middle East Dialogue,” with at least two similar posts.
Another post making the same claim with 2,800 reactions shows another photo of Quiboloy with medals and robes. It further states that the appointment happened on April 1, 2026 in New York. 

Most of the comments believed the claim. One comment reads, “Yes na yes…it is the will of God that our pastor will rule all over the world…”
(Yes, yes. It is the will of God that our pastor will rule all over the world.) 

The facts: The UN did not appoint Quiboloy as peace envoy to the Middle East dialogue. A search on the UN’s website also shows no mention of Quiboloy. 

As of March 25, 2026, Jean Arnault of France remains Personal Envoy of UN Secretary-General António Guterres tasked to lead UN efforts on the conflict in the Middle East. There are also no credible news reports that support the claim of Quiboloy being a peace envoy for the UN.
A reverse image search also shows that the photos used in the false posts are similar to an image posted in 2022, two years before Quiboloy surrendered to authorities. 

A report of DZAR 1026, a flagship radio station owned by Quiboloy’s Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), shows a photo of the UN-Intergovernmental Organizations (UN-IGO) awarding various awards and recognitions to the (KOJC) in Davao City on July 20, 2022, including two honorary doctorate degrees.

Quiboloy is currently detained in Pasig City Jail while facing his human trafficking case. 

Quiboloy: The KOJC founder, a close friend of detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, was in the list of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) most wanted in 2022 for sex trafficking of children and promotional money laundering, among others.
After a months-long manhunt, Quiboloy surrendered in 2024. The following year, Quiboloy was hospitalized due to pneumonia but was returned to the Pasig City Jail. A month later, his appeal for house arrest was denied by a Pasig City court for lack of merit. 

Previous fact-checks: Rappler has already debunked similar claims about Quiboloy: 

• FACT CHECK: Quiboloy indicted for crimes in Philippine, US courts 
• FACT CHECK: Apollo Quiboloy’s cases in US not yet dismissed 
• FACT CHECK: KOJC leader Apollo Quiboloy is alive 
• FACT CHECK: KOJC leader Quiboloy has not been extradited to US 
• FACT CHECK: KOJC lawyer wrongfully denies Quiboloy’s status as a fugitive 

– Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com 

Angelee Kaye Abelinde is a student journalist based in Naga City, and an alumna of Rappler’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024. 

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