Comelec en banc upholds decision allowing Quiboloy to run in Eleksyon 2025

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc junked the motion for reconsideration (MR) which sought to block detained religious leader Apollo Quiboloy’s senatorial bid in Eleksyon 2025 “due to lack of merit.”

In a resolution released Friday, the Comelec en banc denied the MR filed by senatorial aspirant and Workers and Peasants’ Party’s Sonny Matula which sought to overturn the decision of Comelec First Division allowing Quiboloy to run for the Senate.

“WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Commission (En Banc) RESOLVED, as it hereby RESOLVES, to DENY the Motion for Reconsideration. The Assailed Resolution is HEREBY AFFIRMED,” the en banc decision.

In the resolution, the Comelec en banc said “there was no valid ground raised in the Motion and the First Division’s decision “was neither without sufficient basis found in the records, nor contrary to law.”

“We find no cogent reason to depart from the Assailed Resolution of the Commission (First Division). The arguments raised by Petitioner in his Motion were already thoroughly passed upon and incisively examined by the Commission (First Division),” the en banc resolution read.

“At the outset, the combination of different remedies and prayers in a petition to declare as nuisance candidate or disqualification or cancellation of a certificate ground is a ground for summary dismissal, and this is clearly and explicitly mandated by Our rules. Even if this procedural defect is brushed upon, We find the ruling of the Commission (First Division) to have sufficiently addressed and discussed the substantive issues thoroughly and exhaustively,” the en banc said.

The resolution was signed by Comelec chairman George Garcia, Commissioners Socorro Inting, Marlon Casquejo, Aimee Ferolino, Rey Bulay, Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr., and Nelson Celis.

In his MR, Matula reiterated Quiboloy’s candidacy “mocks the electoral process” as he alleged the poll body ruling “exposes glaring inconsistencies” in the treatment of candidates.

Matula said Quiboloy, who is facing a slew of legal charges including child sex trafficking charges, was allowed to run for senator in the next year’s polls while Sultan Subair Guinthium Mustapha, a respected Muslim leader and an official candidate of the WPP, was declared a nuisance candidate.

“Apollo Quiboloy, who is currently detained at Pasig City Jail due to charges of qualified human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, is practically and legally incapacitated to run a nationwide senatorial campaign,” the WPP said.

“His status as a person deprived of liberty (PDL) renders him unable to meet the basic requirements of candidacy, including engaging with voters and conducting legitimate campaign activities,” it added.

The petitioners further asked the Comelec en banc to review the resolution of the First Division, disqualify Quiboloy as a nuisance candidate, and harmonize its procedural rules, saying it “ensures that COMELEC upholds the principles of justice, reasonableness, and fairness for all candidates."

“Let’s be clear—this isn’t about ganging up on Quiboloy…but the inconsistencies and legal infirmities in this resolution can’t be ignored. This Motion for Reconsideration is a call to fix these issues before they undermine the credibility of our electoral system,” the WPP added.

On October 21, Quiboloy announced that he would continue his bid for senator as an independent bet for Eleksyon 2025.

Comelec earlier said that  Quiboloy may be declared an independent senatorial bet in the May 2025 elections after it received two sets of authorized signatories from the WPP, each from the camps of lawyers Mark Kristopher Tolentino and Ariel Joseph Arias.

The Tolentino group submitted its list on September 30, 2024, naming Tolentino and Roberto Pascual as signatories, while the Arias group listed Arias, and lawyers Sonny Matula, Allan Montano, and Oscar Morado as the same. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News