MANILA —  Pasig congressional candidate Ian Sia on Wednesday said that he “can still be voted upon and win the election” next week despite the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) ruling to disqualify him from the midterm polls for violating a resolution against discrimination.

Sia gave the statement hours after the Comelec disqualified him from gunning for Pasig’s lone congressional seat for cracking a joke at the expense of single mothers.

“Malinaw po ang resolution ng Comelec Division na hindi pa po final ang resolution and I can still be voted upon and win the election on Monday,” Sia told ABS-CBN News when asked if he intends to question the Comelec’s ruling before the Supreme Court.

“Comelec can only suspend the proclamation if I win, until the case is ultimately dismissed,” he said.

Comelec division disqualifies Pasig bet Christian Sia

Sia did not give a categorical answer when asked if he remains hopeful he can still defeat incumbent Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo after being disqualified four days before voting day.

“We have wholeheartedly served the people of Pasig, provided the medical services that the incumbent officials woefully overlooked for the past 6 years, and we have a better plan for the use of the P9.6 billion that the rookie mayor chose to spend all in one go in a single project, which will have no direct impact on the lives of the Pasigueños,” Sia said.

“If it is true that the Pasigueños are intelligent voters, then our team’s electoral win is almost assured.”

In a separate statement, Sia said that the Comelec committed a mistake in favoring his disqualification.

“The Comelec has no authority to amend our election laws, it can only implement the laws passed by Congress relating to our elections.

“If Congress intended that a violation of the Safe Spaces Act be a ground to disqualify a candidate, it could have included such provision in the said law, but it did not,” he said. 

Pasig bet Ian Sia defends controversial remarks, invokes 'free speech' 

“Therefore, Comelec can only use the existing grounds found in our Omnibus Election Code which requires a final conviction for the alleged crimes before a candidate may be legally disqualified… Hence, there’s no valid legal ground to disqualify me as a candidate,” he said.

Sia also questioned why he was disqualified over a joke while several national candidates who are facing more serious charges are still allowed to run for public office, and noted that he was not given due process.

“Si Pastor [Apollo] Quiboloy nga po ay arrested for rape at si Sen. Bato [Dela Rosa] po ay may outstanding warrant for the extrajudicial killings committed during Oplan Tokhang pero dahil wala pa silang final conviction sa mga kaso nila hindi sila pwedeng ma-disqualify,” said Sia, a lawyer by profession.

“Pero ako po na nagbiro at walang ni rape at pinatay, i-didisqualify po ng COMELEC kahit wala pang naisampang kaso laban sakin, at mas lalong walang conviction, kaugnay sa sinasabing paglabag sa Safe Spaces Act.,” he said.

Aside from Sia, the Comelec is also looking at over 400 other election-related violations that may lead to the disqualification of other candidates in the 2025 midterm elections. 

The Comelec earlier said that the proclamation of winning candidates who have pending disqualification cases may be suspended until the poll body rules on their cases.