In May 2022, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada gained a senate seat whereas on trial for corruption. He took workplace and was acquitted in January.
Another was rights activist Leila de Lima, who spent most of her six years in jail after being detained in 2017 on drug expenses. She was cleared this yr.
Candidates are disqualified from Senate elections provided that they’ve exhausted all appeals after being convicted of crimes of “ethical turpitude,” in accordance with the electoral code which doesn’t record particular crimes.
Quiboloy was accused by the United States in 2021 of intercourse trafficking women and girls to work as private assistants, who have been allegedly required to have intercourse with him throughout what they mentioned was their “evening responsibility.”
He can be wished by U.S. authorities for money trafficking and a scheme that introduced church members to the United States by way of fraudulently obtained visas.
They have been then pressured to solicit donations for a faux charity, elevating funds that have been as an alternative used to fund the church’s operations and the lavish life of its leaders, in accordance with the FBI.
Twelve of the 24 Senate seats are up for grabs in subsequent yr’s midterm elections, together with greater than 18,000 government positions in Congress and native authorities.