Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed a petition to disqualify televangelist and Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy from joining the senatorial race in the 2025 polls.
The resolution released by Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia to the media on Friday said that the Comelec First Division dismissed the petition filed by senatorial aspirant Atty. Sonny Matula to declare Quiboloy as a nuisance candidate and cancel his certificate of candidacy (COC).
READ: Comelec orders Quiboloy to respond to 2025 polls disqualification case
In his petition, Matula said that Quiboloy’s nomination by the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (WPP) as its senatorial candidate “had no factual and legal basis” since the latter’s certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA) was signed by a certain Mark Tolentino, who Matula alleged that was neither an officer or a member of WPP.
The resolution also noted that Matula alleged that Quiboloy’s submission of an unauthorized CONA is equivalent to material misrepresentation and grounds for disqualification and cancellation of his COC.
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Further, Matula petitioned the detained televangelist to be declared as a nuisance candidate due to criminal cases filed against him.
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The resolution read that “the grounds relied upon by the Petitioner for the disqualification of Respondent and the cancellation of his COC are incorrect and without factual and legal basis.”
It added that Matula failed to comply with the Comelec’s rules that a petition to declare a nuisance candidate cannot be combined with other grounds “for a separate remedy” and there is a lack of evidence to prove that Quiboloy is a nuisance candidate.
The ruling also said that “submission of an unauthorized CONA is not tantamount to material misrepresentation” adding that the required contents of a duly filed COC must be related to the qualifications of a senator under the Article VI, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution.
“The membership of nomination by political party is not among the qualifications for the position of Senator,” the resolution stated.
READ: Alleged victim faces Quiboloy in Senate, tells how he repeatedly ‘used’ her
Quiboloy, who went hiding a few months ago, is currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Quezon City over human trafficking and child abuse charges.
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He formalized his senatorial bid last October 8 through his lawyer, Mark Tolentino.