MANILA- A religious leader in the Philippines, who is accused of sex crimes, said on Sunday that his continued "persecution" will lead to diseases "worse than Omicron."

Over a week after the US announced the filing of sex-trafficking charges against Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and other church officials, the self-proclaimed “son of God” said the public should stop the “false accusations” against him or else the world will continue to suffer from the pandemic.

• Apollo Quiboloy, founder of Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, indicted for sex trafficking

“Do not ever ever play a joke, or continue to pursue the persecution of the appointed son because the Father in heaven has already declared through the appointed son. No one can escape this," Quiboloy claimed during his Sunday worship service in Davao City.

The way you treat the appointed son of God here is the way the world is going to receive its judgment,” Quiboloy said.

He also claimed that the pandemic will get worse.

"If you keep on hurting, persecuting, and harming the appointed son of the kingdom, you will see much worse than the Omicron virus [sic]," Quiboloy said.

"You might see in the future people walking, their flesh rotting away but they're still alive. Flesh-eating bacteria that are immune to any vaccine that will come."

The religious leader is accused of coercing women and young girls to have sex with him.

The 74-page US indictment says Quiboloy and other church officials recruited the girls, aged 12 to 25, as personal assistants or so-called "pastorals".

The women and girls were supposedly required to prepare Quiboloy's meals, clean his residences, give him massages, and have sex with him during what was called "night duty".

• Quiboloy follower pleads guilty to making false statement
• Quiboloy’s Hawaii church head gets 30 days in prison for hidden cash in pastor's jet

In 2018, Quiboloy was briefly detained in Hawaii after cash and guns were discovered in a private plane he was on.

Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed "Owner of the Universe" and "Appointed Son of God," is a longtime friend and spiritual adviser of Duterte.

- Report from Chrislen Bulosan and Mico Abarro, ABS-CBN News