Abante declared Manila 6th district congressman

MANILA, Philippines —   The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has declared Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. as the duly elected congressman of Manila’s 6th District after nullifying the proclamation of his rival, Luis Chua Uy.

In a 19-page order dated June 18, the Comelec Second Division granted Abante’s petition to disqualify Uy as a congressional candidate for not being a natural-born Filipino citizen.

“This is a victory not just for me and the voters of Manila’s sixth district, but for the Constitution and the rule of law,” Abante said.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia, however, said the poll body’s ruling is not yet final and may still be appealed before the commission.

Uy has five days to file an appeal, Garcia said.

Garcia said Uy may also file a petition before the Supreme Court to stop the Comelec from implementing the ruling.

If no temporary restraining order will be issued, Garcia said, the Comelec’s decision would become executory in five days.

The Comelec Second Division voided Uy’s certificate of candidacy (COC) in the May midterm elections, thus the votes cast in his favor are considered stray.

“Respondent’s proclamation should be annulled, leaving the petitioner the only qualified candidate who obtained the highest number of votes for congressman of sixth district of Manila,” the Comelec ruled.

According to the poll body, Uy is barred from being a member of the House of Representatives, based on “substantive grounds” existing before the filing of his COC.

Contrary to what he declared in his COC, the Comelec said Uy is a naturalized Filipino whose citizenship was acquired through the Revised Naturalization Law.

Since Uy has been proclaimed, he may assume the post on June 30 until the ruling on the case becomes final, the Comelec said.

Uy won over Abante by 1,388 votes.

Abante lauded the Comelec decision, saying it “protects the integrity of our democratic institutions.”

“The Constitution is clear. Only natural-born Filipino citizens are qualified to serve in Congress,” he said.  –  Jose Rodel Clapano, Delon Porcalla