MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed a petition seeking to disqualify suspected child abuser Apollo Quiboloy from running in the May 2025 midterm elections.

In a 14-page decision promulgated on Dec. 18, the Comelec First Division ruled that the petitioner, labor leader Sonny Matula, failed to provide sufficient evidence to cancel the detained religious leader’s certificate of candidacy (COC).

“Even if this Commission (First Division) were to apply the rules on liberality and decide based on the merits of this Petition, the grounds relied upon by the Petitioner for the disqualification of Respondent and the cancellation of his COC are incorrect and without factual and legal basis,” the decision stated, released Friday night.

The ruling also noted procedural lapses in the filing of the petition, emphasizing that a petition to declare a candidate as a nuisance cannot be combined with other grounds for a separate remedy.

Matula had argued that Quiboloy’s nomination by the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party was invalid due to the unauthorized signatory of his Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA).

However, the Comelec ruled that this does not constitute "material misrepresentation" under election laws.

Quiboloy withdrew his CONA on Oct. 21, and opted to run as an independent senatorial candidate.

He is currently detained at Camp Crame in Quezon City, facing human trafficking and child abuse charges. (PNA)