Apollo Quiboloy, head of "the Kingdom of Jesus Christ", speaks during a press conference in Davao City on May 23, 2016. Manman Dejeto, AFP/file

MANILA (2ND UPDATE) — Not even a day after formalizing his Senate bid, Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy has already encountered a possible legal challenge to his candidacy.

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On Tuesday, Quiboloy, who is currently detained over qualified human trafficking and child abuse charges, filed through his authorized representative a certificate of candidacy (COC) to run for senator, listing Workers' and Peasants' Party (WPP) as his supposed party.

Sonny Matula of the WPP, however, denied nominating Quiboloy as a Senate bet.

On Wednesday, lawyer Mark Tolentino, who filed Quiboloy's COC for him, said there was a "faction" within the WPP and that he is the president of the "legitimate" one.

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"I am the president of the other group... There is a certification from the Comelec that we are the legitimate," Tolentino told ANC's Dateline.

Matula, on social media, said the faction that Tolentino claims to lead "exists only in his wild imagination."

But to avoid a possible disqualification, Tolentino said they would file a petition in Comelec to amend Quiboloy's COC and make him an "independent" candidate instead.

"We will file a proper petition to the Comelec [so that] Pastor Quiboloy will run as independent," Tolentino said.

He added that Quiboloy running as independent won't be a problem since "many parties are inviting him as a guest candidate."

COMELEC REACTS

Following Matula's statement, the Comelec on Tuesday night addressed the issue and said their law department will still review the COCs and CONAs filed.

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Comelec spokesman Rex Laudiangco said Quiboloy may be declared independent if proven that he was really not affiliated with the WPP. He may also face a criminal complaint since COCs were accomplished under oath.

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"[He] may be declared as independent candidate po... Since the COC is executed under oath, failure to declare the truth may subject the aspirant to perjury," Laudiangco said.

OTHER WPP CANDIDATES SAY QUIBOLOY NOT A MEMBER

Just minutes after Quiboloy’s representatives presented his COC on Tuesday, a group of WPP senatorial bets took the stage at the Comelec's COC filing area and introduced themselves to the public.

Dr. Sonny Pimentel, one of the party’s candidates said the WPP was formed in 1963 and has a registered office address in Makati City.

When asked, however, if Quiboloy is a partymate, Pimentel said: “Ay hindi po 'yun Workers’ and Peasants’ Party.”

(Oh, he is not of the Workers' and Peasants' Party)

The party’s senatorial aspirants named a certain Ariel Joseph Arias, a lawyer, as the party member in charge of their certificates of nomination and said Quiboloy is not a member.

“It’s better for us to check on that but we really do not have a knowledge on it. and wala naman kaming naririnig na factions diyan sa party (and we have not heard of any factions within the party),” Pete Ordiales, another WPP senatorial aspirant, said.

Last September 30, the Commission on Elections required political organizations to submit the list of their officials who are authorized to sign Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance and, according to Comelec records, the people on that list are Matula, Arias, Allan Montano and Dr. Oscar Morado.

But the Comelec also has anothersupposed  WPP document authorizing Tolentino as Chairman/President and the supposed WPP secretary general Roberto Pascual, to issue CONAs.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the commission can investigate the matter but the supposed factions need to formally inform the Law Department about the supposed dispute.

'HAVE A LITTLE SHAME'

Quiboloy's camp said the embattled televangelist decided to run for senator to be the "solution to the country's problems."

But Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who is leading the Senate probe into Quiboloy's alleged crimes, asked why the religious leader even had the audacity to run for public office. 

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"Apollo Quiboloy, magkaroon naman kayo ng kaunting hiya. Para sa isang taong humaharap sa patong-patong na kaso kabilang ang human trafficking at child abuse... nagkaroon pa talaga kayo ng lakas ng loob na ipresenta ang iyong sarili sa taumbayan para maging mambabatas," Hontiveros said in a statement.

(Apollo Quiboloy, you should have a little shame. For a person facing a string of cases, including human trafficking and child abuse, you really have the gall to present yourself to the people as a potential legislator)

The senator then appealed to Filipino voters to "not elect lawbreakers as lawmakers."

Meanwhile, House Committee on Human Rights chairperson Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. criticized Quiboloy's Senate bid.

“Some people are making a mockery of this election... I don’t even think that they are actually serious about it,” he said.

The lawmaker is studying the possibility of filing a bill that will seek to ban individuals charged in court with heinous crimes or non-bailable offenses from running for public office.

He, however, recognized that the constitutionality of such a measure may be questioned.

Aside from local cases, Quiboloy was also charged by the United States in 2021 with sex trafficking of girls and women to work as personal assistants, who were allegedly required to have sex with him during what they said was their "night duty." 

Quibiloy has denied the allegations, saying these are rehashed and were made by disgruntled former members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

He said in February that he does not need to coerce women to have sex with him because they "fight over him". 

—With reports from Vivienne Gulla and Sherrie Ann Torres, ABS-CBN News

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