Petition filed against Quiboloy

SENATORIAL aspirant Sonny Matula on Wednesday filed a petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to cancel the candidacy of controversial preacher Apollo Quiboloy.

Quiboloy filed his certificate of candidacy (CoC) under the Workers and Peasants Party (WPP), which Matula is representing.

Matula 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,» Matula said.

The WPP discovered that Quiboloy's CoC had no authorized Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) and no authorized officer of the party.

Quiboloy, who is in detention on charges of abusing minors, 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.

The group said Quiboloy's candidacy should be cancelled for misrepresentation.

The petitioners called on the Comelec to immediately cancel the CONA and CoC of Quiboloy and declare him as a nuisance candidate.