The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday directed the Commission on Election (Comelec) to proclaim Roberto "Pinpin" Uy Jr. as the true Representative of the 1st District of Zamboanga del Norte.

In a press briefer, SC Public Information Office (PIO) said the higher court also order the nullification of the proclamation of Romeo Jalosjos Jr. who is also known by the nickname of "Kuya Jonjon".

Uy Jr. was originally set to be proclaimed as Zamboanga del Norte's 1st District Rep. after acquiring the majority of the votes of 69,591 against three candidates in the May 2022 National and Local Election.

However, Comelec suspended his proclamation after the votes gained by nuisance candidate, Frederico "Kuya Jan" Jalosjos was transferred to Romeo Jalosjos Jr.

But according to the SC, the poll body's suspension of Uy Jr.'s proclamation has irregularities.

"The Court further ruled that the COMELEC's power to suspend the proclamation of a winning candidate is not available in proceedings to declare on a nuisance candidate. Thus, the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion when it suspended Uy's proclamation in SPA No. 21-224 (DC), a proceeding where UY is not a party, and was thus denied the opportunity to be heard," the higher court's communication office said.

The SC PIO added that the Court ruled that Uy Jr's proclamation "depends not only whether F. Jalosjos is a nuisance candidate but also on the statistical probability of affecting the outcome of the election."

Uy Jr. ran under Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in the May 2022 polls.