MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial aspirant Sonny Matula on Wednesday filed a petition to cancel the candidacy of controversial preacher Apollo Quiboloy.
Quiboloy’s candidacy fell under the Workers’ and Peasants Party (WPP) where Matula is a candidate.
The preface of his petition said Quiboloy was never a member of their party.
“The Workers’ and Peasants Party (WPP) is not opposed to religious leaders running for public office; however, we strongly object to the misuse and hijacking of our party’s name to bolster a candidacy, particularly in the case of Apollo C. Quiboloy. He is neither a member of our party, nor a guest candidate, and has not received any nomination from our authorized officers,” the petition read.
Matula and the WPP argued that Quiboloy was playing “smoke and mirrors” at the expense of the party and was “exploiting the electoral process as a smokescreen to deflect attention from the serious criminal charges he faces, including qualified human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors.”
“This undermines the integrity of the 2025 senatorial elections and makes a mockery of our democratic system,” the petition’s preface read.
According to the WPP, it discovered that Quiboloy’s certificate of candidacy (CoC) had no authorized Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) from the party.
Quiboloy, who is detained by the PNP, was represented by lawyer Mark Tolentino, when he filed his CoC.
“The actions of the unauthorized individuals have led to the wrongful nomination of respondent Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, who does not represent the interests of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (WPP) and whose candidacy is prejudicial to the party’s established rules and procedures,” the petition read.
“It also destroys the image of the WPP in the public as if it is endorsing a person accused of qualified human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors and now detention for these grave crimes as its candidate,” it added.
According to the petition, the grounds for the cancellation of Quiboloy’s candidacy should be that of material misrepresentation.
The petitioners called on the Comelec to immediately cancel the CONA and CoC of Quiboloy and declare him as a nuisance candidate.
Matula is running again for the Senate, following the 2022 polls.
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