The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) en banc junked Luis “Joey” Chua Uy’s motion for reconsideration, declaring Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. as the duly elected representative of Manila’s 6th district.
On Monday, June 30, RH Boy Gonzales reported that the COMELEC junked Uy’s motion for reconsideration concerning the nullification of his proclamation as congressman-elect during the 2025 Midterm elections. According to the report, the COMELEC En Banc asserted that the COMELEC 2nd Division’s decision.
It was based on Section 6, Article 6 of the Constitution—which states the issue on a candidate’s citizenship—indicating that Uy is not a natural-born Filipino citizen, making his win and proclamation null and void.
Abante, the candidate who garnered the highest number of votes during the midterm polls, is declared the duly elected congressman-elect of the 6th District of Manila. Gonzales reported that the poll body has now told the Board of Canvassers in Manila to convene and proceed with Abante’s proclamation.
Meanwhile, the report highlighted that COMELEC Chairman George Garcia and Commissioner and former Ernesto Maceda Jr. were not part of the poll body’s decision process.
Abante has previously filed a petition to cancel Uy’s Certificate of Candidacy (COC), citing issues with the latter’s citizenship.
Earlier this month, Uy filed a motion to reverse the COMELEC 2nd Division’s ruling, which stated that the former is not a natural-born Filipino, but rather a naturalized Filipino citizen.
He again asserted his Filipino citizenship through a social media statement this June writing, “Ang aking ama ay naturalized Filipino ngunit ang aking ina ay natural-born Filipino. Kung ang inyong ina ay natural-born at ang Pilipinas ang iyong lupang sinilangan, ‘di ba, natural-born Filipino. Ako po ay Pilipino.”
