Joey Uy camp asserts Benny Abante’s proclamation ‘unconstitutional’
The camp of Joey Chua Uy on Tuesday asserted that the proclamation of Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. as the winning candidate of the Manila 6th district representative in the May 2025 midterm elections is “unconstitutional.” —PHOTO FROM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FACEBOOK PAGE.
MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Joey Chua Uy on Tuesday asserted that the proclamation of Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. as the winning candidate of the Manila 6th district representative in the May 2025 midterm elections is “unconstitutional.”
Edward Gialogo, Uy’s legal counsel, also called unconstitutional the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc’s issuance of a certificate of finality on its June 30 ruling that paved the way for Abante’s proclamation.
Abante was proclaimed on Tuesday by the City Board of Canvassers (CBOC) of Manila as the winning candidate of the congressional race, a day after the certificate of finality and entry of judgment was issued.
READ: Benny Abante proclaimed Manila 6th district representative
According to Gialogo, Uy was already assumed as a congressman at noon on June 30, as he noted that cases such as qualifications and citizenship should be discussed by the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).
“Our Constitution has a provision where an individual becomes a congressman or member of the House of Representatives, the HRET must discuss the issues involving qualifications and citizenship,” he told reporters in an interview.
Gialogo also said that the Comelec should no longer have jurisdiction over the case.
“They should not have released anything, like the one they did with the certificate of proclamation,” he said.
Gialogo noted that the legal battle should not be difficult, as there were similar cases where citizenship was questioned.
The lawyer also mentioned that Uy has gone to the Supreme Court (SC) to file a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition to prevent the Comelec from executing the decision, and a Mandamus to compel the House to recognize Uy as the congressman.
When asked when Uy’s camp will raise the issue to the HRET, Gialogo said that they do not have plans to file a petition yet as they are “optimistic” that the SC will favor them.
Comelec’s response
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that the poll body anticipated that Uy’s camp would raise the issue of unconstitutionality on the proclamation.
“The first question is, is there a restraining order issued? Because if not, the Comelec can’t be prohibited from implementing the decision because it will be remiss of our duty that is mandated in the Constitution,” he told reporters in a separate interview.
Further, Garcia believes that the Comelec still had jurisdiction over the case when the en banc released its resolution dated June 30, just a few hours before the start of the term of the newly elected leaders.
Garcia added that it was the reason a certificate of finality and entry of judgment was issued, paving the way for proclamation, as there was no temporary restraining order (TRO) from the SC.
READ: Comelec upholds decision declaring Abante as Manila congressman
“Because a certificate of proclamation has already been issued, it seems that the Comelec will lose its jurisdiction unless the Supreme Court tells us that what the Comelec and CBOC did is wrong,” Garcia said.
Abante camp ready
Lawyer Romulo Macalintal, Abante’s legal counsel, said that their camp is ready to face issues thrown by the camp of Uy.
“Ever since this case started, we have always been ready for whatever they will do. We believe that the law is on our side,” Macalintal said in a separate interview.
Macalintal also affirmed that the case filed by Abante is “constitutional,” as he noted the findings of the Comelec en banc that Uy is not a natural-born citizen, which he said is the “most important issue.”
“That is the most important issue here, not the procedural matter. It is not about how he was proclaimed, but the reason why we have this kind of case,” Macalintal added.
In its June 30 ruling, the Comelec en banc affirmed the decision of the Comelec Second Division to annul the proclamation of Uy as congressman and directed the CBOC to reconvene and proclaim Abante as the winner.
On June 18, the second division voided the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Uy after 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 material misrepresentation under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code.”/coa
