COMELEC annuls Chua Uy's election, declares Abante winner in Manila's 6th District

Rep. Bienvenido 'Benny' Abante Jr. has been declared the duly elected Member of the House of Representatives for Manila's 6th District after the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Second Division annulled Luis 'Joey' Chua Uy’s proclamation over citizenship issues.

COMELEC ruled that Chua Uy, who narrowly won in the May 12 elections with 64,746 votes compared to Abante's 63,358, is not a natural-born Filipino as his father was Chinese and his mother became Chinese upon marriage at the time of his birth.

Abante submitted Chua Uy’s immigration records showing that he acquired Filipino citizenship five years after birth when his father was granted naturalized Filipino status.

The ruling states that Chua Uy made false declarations in his certificate of candidacy, disqualifying him from running for or holding office under the Constitution.

With Uy disqualified, Abante is now declared the only qualified candidate who received the highest number of votes in Manila's 6th District, effectively making him the duly elected district representative for the 19th Congress.

Despite this ruling, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said Chua Uy will still be able to represent the 6th District of Manila on June 30 as the decision is not yet final and may be appealed before the COMELEC en banc.