Benny Abante proclaimed Manila 6th district representative
Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. — PHOTO FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FACEBOOK PAGE
MANILA, Philippines — The City Board of Canvassers (CBOC) of Manila has officially proclaimed Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. as the duly elected representative of the city’s sixth district in the 2025 midterm elections.
The proclamation was held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday at the Office of the Election Officer for Manila’s third district in Ermita.
This came after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc issued a certificate of finality and entry of judgment on its June 30 ruling, paving the way for Abante’s proclamation.
READ: Comelec: Abante’s win in House race final
The Comelec en banc noted that the Supreme Court did not issue a restraining order within five days of both parties receiving the decision, making it final and executory.
On Monday afternoon, the local election officer, acting as chairperson of the CBOC, issued a notice reconvening the board on Tuesday morning “for the purpose of proceeding with the proclamation” of Abante as the sixth district representative.
In its June 30 ruling, the Comelec en banc affirmed the decision of the Comelec Second Division to annul the proclamation of Joey Chua Uy as a congressman and directed the CBOC to reconvene and proclaim Abante as the winner.
On June 18, the Second Division voided Uy’s certificate of candidacy (COC), ruling that he is a naturalized Filipino citizen and not a natural-born one.
The division held that Uy “made a false declaration in his COC, which constitutes a material misrepresentation under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code.”
In his petition, Abante noted that Uy declared in his COC that he is a natural-born Filipino citizen and was born on March 15, 1962, to a Chinese father, Uy Ho, who acquired Philippine citizenship through naturalization when Joel was five years old, and to a Filipina mother.
READ: Abante on winning Manila 6th district race: Comelec showed ‘courage’
The en banc affirmed that Uy was not a Filipino citizen at the time of his birth, citing his mother’s identification records, which described her as a Filipina before her marriage and as the wife of a naturalized Filipino citizen.
The en banc also cited the 1935 Constitution—the constitutional regime in effect at the time of Uy’s birth—which addressed the matter of Philippine citizenship under Article IV.
Section 1(4) of the Constitution states that Filipino citizens include “those whose mothers are citizens of the Philippines and, upon reaching the age of majority, elect Philippine citizenship.”
“Albeit discriminatory by today’s standards, the historical fact remains that women automatically lost their citizenship and acquired that of their foreign husbands by virtue of Subsection 4 above, as well as the existing laws prevailing at that time,” the en banc noted.
Abante lost his reelection bid to Uy in a tight race, receiving 63,358 votes compared to Uy’s 65,746.
‘Rule of law prevails’
Following his proclamation, Abante said he felt gratified that the rule of law had prevailed.
“At last, the law has prevailed. This is what we call the rule of law—constitutional. Secondly, the will of our district also triumphed, along with the people who helped and supported me,” he told reporters in an interview.
He also thanked his supporters, assuring them that they did not lose their district’s representative.
Abante camp ready
Atty. Romulo Macalintal, Abante’s legal counsel, said the representative’s camp is ready to address any issues raised by Uy’s camp.
“Since the beginning of this case, we have always been prepared for everything they would do. We believe that the law is on our side,” the lawyer added.
Macalintal also said that the case filed by Abante is “constitutional,” emphasizing the Comelec en banc’s findings that Uy is not a natural-born citizen, which he described as the “most important issue.”
“That is the most important issue here—not the procedural matter. It’s not about the manner of the proclamation, but the real reason why this kind of case was filed in the first place,” he added./mcm
