DETAINED Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy has revoked his Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) from the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (WPP) for his senatorial candidacy in the upcoming 2025 midterm elections.
On Monday, October 21, 2024, Quiboloy, through his legal counsel, Attorney Mark Tolentino, submitted a letter to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) revoking his acceptance as a nominee of the WPP “given the ongoing intra-party dispute.”
“I am, therefore, running as an independent candidate for senator in the 2025 NLE (National and Local Elections),” he stated in the letter.
Last week, the WPP and labor leader Sonny Matula filed a petition with the Comelec seeking the cancellation of Quiboloy’s certificate of candidacy for “material misrepresentation.”
They argued that Quiboloy’s CONA, which endorses him as a candidate of the party, “has no factual or legal basis” and was made by “unauthorized persons.”
The WPP also noted that Quiboloy, who is facing charges for child and sexual abuse as well as qualified human trafficking, is neither a member of the party nor 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 petition stated.
Matula and Quiboloy were both included in the initial list of senatorial aspirants submitted to the Comelec, whose names may be included on the official ballot for the May 2025 elections.
The Comelec previously stated it received two sets of authorized signatories from the WPP, each from the camps of lawyers Mark Kristopher Tolentino and Ariel Joseph Arias.
The Tolentino group listed Roberto Pascual as a signatory, while the Arias group listed Arias, Matula, Allan Montano, and Oscar Morado as authorized signatories.
Quiboloy’s CONA was signed by Tolentino, but Matula and the WPP insisted that Tolentino was not among their members.
In an interview with reporters, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the agency’s Law Department, as well as the Comelec en banc, will stand firm in its earlier decision to classify Quiboloy as a legitimate candidate “simply because there’s no final and executory decision concerning his cases.”
“As far as the Comelec is concerned, we made a decision to include him as a candidate, regardless of whether he is an independent candidate or a candidate with a political party,” he said.
“Walang effect whatsoever sa nilabas naming resolution. (There's no effect whatsoever on the resolution that we released.) If somebody files a petition against a candidate, that's a different matter altogether. Kung ‘yun lang ay pagtatanggal ng nomination, it does not affect the determination of the Law Department and the Commission en banc,” he added. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)