Comelec clears Quiboloy Senate bid

Metro Manila, Philippines – The Commission on Elections has cleared Apollo Quiboloy, a religious leader detained on child abuse and human trafficking charges, to run in the 2025 senatorial polls after rejecting an appeal against his candidacy.

On Dec. 20, the poll body’s first division dismissed a petition filed by senatorial aspirant Sonny Matula, which sought to disqualify Quiboloy, declare him a nuisance candidate, and cancel his certificate of candidacy.

Matula, a labor lawyer and leader of the Workers' and Peasants' Party (WPP), said Quiboloy’s Certification of Nomination and Acceptance as a senatorial aspirant under the WPP was not signed by a legitimate party member, and is considered material misrepresentation. Matula said the move was to divert attention from the numerous cases filed against Quiboloy.

Quiboloy denied the allegations.

The first division dismissed the petition, stating that no provision in the Omnibus Election Code mandates the disqualification of a candidate with pending civil or criminal cases without a final court ruling.

In his appeal, Matula said Quiboloy was "undermining the credibility of the elections by using his candidacy as a smokescreen to shield himself from the law."

“We resolve to deny the motion for lack of merit,” the Comelec en banc stated in a seven-page resolution on Friday, Dec. 27, signed by Comelec Chairman George Garcia and the six commissioners.

It noted that Matula used a combination of remedies and prayers in his petition, which is a ground for summary dismissal.

“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 resolution read.

Asked if the decision is final, Garcia told NewsWatch Plus that the petitioner can still appeal to the Supreme Court for relief.

Quiboloy is now set to run for Senate while in jail on non-bailable qualified human trafficking charges. He ranked 28th to 39th in the latest Social Weather Stations senatorial survey conducted in December, commissioned by Stratbase Consultancy.