THE Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (WPP) on Wednesday appealed before the Supreme Court (SC) to reverse the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) decision to include an embattled preacher in the senatorial race this May.
WPP challenged Comelec’s decision that dismissed its plea to declare pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy a nuisance candidate.
The WPP said the Comelec’s ruling showed a double standard in enforcing procedural rules, undermining fairness, equal protection and the rule of law in the electoral process.
“We urge the Supreme Court to ensure that the electoral process upholds the principles of fairness, accountability, and equal protection,” the group’s leader Jose Sonny G. Matula said. “The future of our democracy depends on it.”
The 19-page petition slammed the poll body’s practice of splitting cases into separate issues, which it said delays justice and creates opportunities for respondents like Mr. Quiboloy to exploit these inefficiencies.
It added that while Comelec strictly enforced procedural requirements against the group, it has shown leniency toward the self-appointed son of God.
The WPP also said that Comelec’s decision reflects unequal treatment of candidates, favoring powerful figures like Mr. Quiboloy.
It argued this selective enforcement contradicts the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law.
Mr. Quiboloy’s legal counsel, Ferdinand S. Topacio, did not immediately respond to a Viber message seeking comment.
The embattled preacher, who is currently detained due to trafficking and abuse charges, filed his certificate of candidacy for the position last Oct. 8, through his lawyer.
The Comelec en banc did not disqualify him from the May 2025 race due to “lack of merit.”
He is facing numerous charges linked to his alleged actions and those of his organization, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Among these is a non-bailable case of trafficking in persons filed in a Pasig City Regional Trial Court, where he entered a plea of not guilty. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana
