BASED on the partial list released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central office on October 16, 2024, the detained pastor is among the 66 political aspirants who are hoping to grab one of the 12 Senate seats.
The list also includes former President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos' executive secretary Vic Rodriguez, independent candidate Ben Tulfo, and his brother, Erwin Tulfo, who is running on the administration ticket.
Meanwhile, both Francis Tolentino and Manny Pacquiao, who abandoned the rival factions of PDP-Laban to join the Marcos-led Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), had their senatorial bids approved by the Comelec.
Current administration favorites Benjamin Abalos Jr., Abby Binay, Bong Revilla, Pia Cayetano, Lito Lapid, Ping Lacson, Camille Villar, Tito Sotto, and presidential sister reelectionist Sen. Imee Marcos are included on the first list of senatorial candidates.
On the other hand, well-known supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte reelectionists Bong Go, Ronald dela Rosa, musician Jimmy Bondoc, actor Philip Salvador, and television host Willie Revillame, as well as former senators including Gringo Honasan, Bam Aquino, and Kiko Pangilinan were included.
“The above list is without prejudice to the decision of the division of the en banc to declare as nuisance candidates filed by the law department,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said, adding that out of the 183 aspirants who submitted their certificate of candidacy (COC), at least 66 have been confirmed to be authentic thus far, and they may be included on the official ballots.
On October 8, this year, the Philippines’ most influential pastor filed his COC through his legal representative, Mark Tolentino. The founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder is running under the banner of the Workers' and Peasants' Party (WPP).
However, on October 16, his fellow senatorial aspirant and labor leader Sonny Matula filed the petition to cancel the certificate of nomination and acceptance (Cona) issued to Quiboloy as a nominee of the supposed political party.
Petitioners including Matula insisted that Quiboloy should be declared as a nuisance candidate since he “cannot campaign during his incarceration as he is facing several criminal charges in court.”
Meanwhile, in response to Matula’s claims, Tolentino clarified that his client, Quiboloy is the sole official senatorial candidate of the duly registered Workers' and Peasants' Party and that Matula including his co-aspirants is affiliated with another party called Workers Party of the Philippines.
“They have no program of governance in the event they win; they failed to exercise their utmost vigilance in the protection of their candidacy. They are unable to conduct an election campaign due to their disorganized platform. And lastly, they failed to demonstrate seriousness in running for office.” Tolentino stated, directly referring to his statement to Matula.
Currently, 104 petitions have been filed for the declaration of nuisance candidates for the upcoming elections, 24 for the cancellation of COC, one disqualification case, and 117 motu propio filing of petitions to declare 117 senatorial aspirants as nuisance candidates, for a total of 246 Special Action (SPA) cases filed. (DEF)