A petition has been filed before the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on Wednesday to cancel the certificate of candidacy of detained televangelist Apollo Quiboloy for “material misrepresentation.”
According to the seven-page petition filed by labor leader Sonny Matula and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (WPP), Quiboloy’s nomination as WPP’s candidate “had no factual and legal basis and, his CONA, was made by unauthorized persons.”
The WPP pointed out the controversial religious leader is neither a party member or a guest candidate.
“The Workers’ and Peasants’ Party 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,” the group argued.
The petition stemmed from Quiboloy’s candidacy after his Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) was allegedly signed by Matula. But the latter denied signing such a document.
“Relevant resolutions of the Commissions on Elections commonly provide that only authorized party officials and representatives can submit and sign the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance,” the party maintained.
“Moreover, using an unauthorized Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) in the Philippines is a serious election offense,” the petition added. “A CONA is typically issued by a political party to officially endorse a candidate as their nominee. Using a fraudulent or unauthorized CONA can lead to disqualification.”
Further, the WPP said that Quiboloy is just “exploiting the electoral process as a smokescreen to deflect attention from the serious criminal charges he faces…This undermines the integrity of the 2025 senatorial elections and makes a mockery of our democratic system.”
In the initial list of senatorial aspirants released by COMELEC, both Matula and Quiboloy made the cut as WPP bets.
According to Sandra Aguinaldo’s post on X (formerly Twitter), the camp of Quiboloy has filed a petition seeking to declare Matula as a nuisance candidate.
The camp of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy has filed a petition seeking to declare senatorial aspirant Sonny Matula as nuisance. Quiboloy and Matula are both aspiring for senatorial seats under Workers’ and Peasants’ Party. @gmanews
— sandra aguinaldo (@sandraguinaldo) October 16, 2024
GMA Integrated News reached out to Quiboloy’s camp for comment. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News
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