Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
(UPDATE) THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed a petition seeking to disqualify televangelist Apollo Quiboloy from running for the Senate in next year's elections.
In a 14-page decision promulgated on Dec. 18, the Comelec First Division ruled that the petitioner, labor leader Sonny Matula, failed to provide sufficient evidence to cancel the detained religious leader's certificate of candidacy (COC).
It also cited procedural lapses in the filing of the petition, emphasizing that a petition to declare a candidate as a nuisance cannot be combined with other grounds for a separate remedy.
Matula had argued that Quiboloy's nomination by the Workers' and Peasants' Party (WPP) was invalid due to the unauthorized signatory of his Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA).
But the Comelec ruled that this does not constitute "material misrepresentation" under election laws.
Quiboloy withdrew his CONA on Oct. 21 and opted to run as an independent senatorial candidate.
The leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ group is currently detained at Camp Crame in Quezon City on charges of human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors.
In a statement on Saturday, Matula said the WPP had not yet received an official copy of the Comelec resolution.
But he stressed that the WPP's primary goal has been achieved since Quiboloy had already severed ties with the party earlier in the electoral process.
"Even before the promulgation of the decision, we had already achieved our first and primary objective since Mr. Quiboloy voluntarily disassociated himself from the WPP shortly after realizing that the WPP is no pushover," Matula said.
Quiboloy initially filed his certificate of candidacy for the Senate under the banner of WPP. However, his alignment with the party was short-lived.
Facing mounting pressure and recognizing the challenges ahead, Quiboloy renounced his status as a WPP candidate in a submission to the Comelec dated December 10.
The Comelec ruling to not declare Quiboloy a nuisance candidate has sparked questions, particularly from the WPP. The party maintained that the burden of explaining this ruling lies with the Comelec.
"We would rather concentrate our efforts on consolidating our party and would wish to withhold any further comment until we have received and reviewed the official copy of the resolution," said Matula, who himself is a senatorial candidate.
"It is also important to emphasize that we do not wish to be perceived as ganging up on Mr. Quiboloy. The full prosecutorial arm of the government is already addressing his criminal liabilities," he said.
Acknowledging the potential for public perception to shift, he stressed that WPP does not wish to inadvertently bolster Quiboloy's candidacy by painting him as an underdog.
"We are mindful of the narrative that might paint him as an underdog being unfairly targeted. This is not our intention, and we remain focused on strengthening our party and obtaining a fair and just resolution of the matter," said Matula.