Comelec affirms Benny Abante’s win, rules Uy not natural-born Filipino

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June 30, 2025 | 10:50am

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections has rejected Luis "Joey" Chua Uy's motion for reconsideration, clearing the way for re-electionist Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. to be proclaimed as the representative of Manila's 6th district.

In a resolution dated June 30, the Comelec en banc affirmed the ruling of its Second Division and upheld its June 18 decision annulling the proclamation of Uy as district representative.

The body ruled that Uy failed to meet the natural-born citizenship requirement for House members, stating he only acquired Filipino citizenship through his father's naturalization rather than by birth.

Comelec declared Abante "the only qualified candidate who garnered the highest number of votes" and directed Manila's Board of Canvassers to reconvene and officially proclaim him as the district's representative.

The arguments. Uy had raised the following points in his motion for reconsideration.

Affirming that he is a natural-born Filipino, Uy argued the commission misinterpreted citizenship laws and jurisprudence and wrongly relied on identification certificates to determine his citizenship status.

He also argued that he was not required to formally elect Philippine citizenship to be considered natural-born. However, he added that even if such an election was required, he had the option to make an "informal election" because he was already a Filipino citizen when he reached the age of majority.

Uy said he demonstrated this informal election through his voter registration, consistent participation in elections, work as a public official, and professional practice — activities he said are "reserved exclusively for Filipino citizens."

He also contended that the commission wrongly treated the petition challenging his proclamation as valid despite being filed after the 25-day statutory deadline.

Comelec junks appeal. The commission rejected Uy's arguments, maintaining that it has constitutional authority to review candidates' qualifications even after proclamation to protect the integrity of the polls.

Comelec's ruling hinged on Uy's family background. The commission found that his parents were both Chinese — father Uy Ho, who later became a naturalized Filipino citizen, and mother Emilia Chua, who lost her Filipino citizenship upon marriage under the 1935 Constitution.

The electoral body determined this made Uy a naturalized citizen through his father's naturalization, not a natural-born citizen as required to run for a congressional seat under the 1987 Constitution.

"Respondent is not a Filipino citizen at the time of his birth," the ruling stated, noting that his identification certificate described him as having "derivative citizenship by the very words 'Recognized as citizen of the Philippines' in view of the naturalization of his father."

"But for all the length and breadth of his arguments against the evidentiary value and admissibility of the Identification Certificates, including, as well, his warning against the use of artificial intelligence, Respondent NEVER ACTUALLY DISPUTED the authenticity of its contents," the ruling read.

"While broadly alleging that the authenticity of said Identification Certificates are 'vigorously contested,' Respondent never claimed that its contents are false or fabricated. To our minds, Respondent's efforts to exclude the Identification Certificates without disputing the truthfulness of their contents amounts to an implied admission that the Certificates were, in fact, issued to him and his parents," it added.