Luis “Joey” Uy thought he won the election to become one of Manila’s leaders. But now, things have gotten very complicated.
On Monday, Joey went to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, to ask for help. He said, “Please stop the decision that says Benny Abante is the real winner!” He asked the court to stop everything and go back to how things were before, while everyone figures out what really happened.
What Really Happened?
At first, Joey was announced as the winner of the election in Manila’s 6th District. But later, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Joey’s win doesn’t count because they believe he is not a natural-born Filipino. That means they think he wasn’t born as a Filipino citizen, which is required to run for office.
So, Comelec took back his certificate of candidacy and gave the win to Bienvenido “Benny” Abante, who had the next highest number of votes.
Joey tried to fight this decision by asking Comelec to think again. But they said no.
So now, Joey is asking the Supreme Court to stop Comelec’s decision and let him stay in his position while the case is being reviewed.
What Does Benny Abante Say?
Benny Abante is happy with Comelec’s decision. He said the ruling was fair and followed the law.
He also said, “People deserve leaders who are honest and true about who they are.”
Joey Still Fights for His Seat
Even though Comelec says he lost, Joey went to the House of Representatives and asked them to include his name on the official list of members for the 20th Congress. He said he is still the real winner because the decision against him isn’t final yet.
Joey’s team shared a law from the Constitution that says the winner of a congressional race starts working at 12 noon on June 30—and that’s exactly what Joey did. He said he was ready to start working on Day 1.
He even tried to file his first law — a bill that would give free flu vaccines to all senior citizens. But when his team went to the House to file it, they were stopped. Staff there said he’s not on the official list yet.
Joey was sad and said, “I just want to help our senior citizens stay healthy. Flu vaccines shouldn’t run out.”
Now, everyone is waiting to see what the Supreme Court will say. Will Joey get his seat back? Or will Benny stay the winner?
