Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) honorary chairperson Apollo Quiboloy welcomes the Philippine Army top leadership during the Memorandum of Partnership Agreement at the SMNI Studio in Makati City on October 24, 2022. Philippine Army Handout photoMANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed a petition seeking to disqualify jailed televangelist Apollo Quiboloy from the senatorial race in the 2025 national and local elections for allegedly trying run under a party that disavows him.

Last October, senatorial aspirant and labor leader Sonny Matula filed a petition before the poll body seeking to cancel the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) issued to Quiboloy to run under the Workers' and Peasants' Party.

Matula, who is from WPP, said the party had not nominated Quiboloy and that his CONA must be cancelled due to "material misrepresentation."

But the Comelec First Division dismissed the petition, saying it "deserves scant consideration for being unmeritorious."

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Comelec said the petition had procedural defects and that the grounds that Matula raised "are incorrect and without factual and legal basis."

It said that "a petition to declare a candidate as a nuisance candidate cannot be combined with grounds for a separate remedy," which led to the summary dismissal of the plea.

Even if it followed Comelec's procedural rules, the poll body said the petition will still not prosper since Matula failed to prove Quiboloy is a nuisance candidate, or one who is running to make a mockery of the elections or to cause confusion among voters.

READ: Who is Apollo Quiboloy?

QUIBOLOY'S CRIMINAL CASES

In his petition, Matula alleged the jailed televangelist should be declared a nuisance candidate since he cannot campaign because he is facing criminal cases.

The labor leader also said Quiboloy filed his COC with the intention to put the election process in mockery.

Comelec did not agree with these arguments since there is no provision in Resolution No. 11046 and Section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code that candidates with pending cases should be declared a nuisance candidate.

The First Division was likewise not convinced by the argument that Quiboloy filed his COC "to evade criminal prosecution, or to deflect the attention from the said criminal cases."

It said it could not declare Quiboloy a nuisance candidate without solid evidence.

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'NOT MATERIAL MISREPRESENTATION'

Matula's petition highlighted that Quiboloy's submission of an unauthorized CONA, as a ground for the cancellation of his COC.

However, the poll body said this argument is "patently erroneous", saying material representation only covers lies  "relative to the required qualifications of the public office that he or she is running for."

Comelec stated that Section 3, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution or the qualifications for senator does not include membership or nomination by political party among the qualifications.

"Even assuming arguendo that the CONA was signed without proper authority, this merely converts the Respondent's status to that of an independent candidate," it said.

Quiboloy in October said he will instead run as an independent senatorial candidate after revoking his supposed CONA from the WPP.

"The Respondent's assertion of good faith in relying in the authority of [lawyer Mark] Tolentino to sign the CONA, grounded on the pendency of the petition to declare Tolentino as among the legitimate officers of WPP is not without merit," the Comelec division said, adding there was no evidence that Quiboloy had meant to deceive voters.

Quiboloy faces qualified human trafficking and sexual abuse charges, which he claimed were fabricated by former members of his religious group.

QUIBOLOY CAMP WELCOMES DECISION

The camp of the detained televangelist lauds the decision of the poll body, keeping his senatorial bid alive.

"We are happy sa decision ng Comelec. Tuloy na tuloy na po ang pag takbo ni Pastor ACQ," Tolentino said in a message to ABS-CBN News.

"ACQ is more than qualified to be a senator. 'Yong mga cases sa kanya, pending pa yan. Wala pa naman final decision," he said, adding the detained pastor is sincere in wanting to run for senator.

(The cases against him are still pending. There has been no final decision on them)

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