A petition for quo warranto has been filed before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), seeking to remove former Bohol Governor Arthur Yap from his seat as the first nominee of the Murang Kuryente Partylist.

The case, HRET Case No. 25-017, challenges Yap’s legal authority to hold public office, citing an alleged perpetual disqualification stemming from an Ombudsman ruling against him last February.

According to the filing by petitioner Edgardo Ingking, Yap is perpetually disqualified from government service following a 19 February 2025 decision by the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman found Yap and seven other provincial government employees guilty of grave misconduct with the aggravating circumstance of serious dishonesty for acts committed during his tenure as Bohol governor.

The decision ordered Yap’s dismissal from government service, which carried accessory penalties including forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

The petition argues that this disqualification remains active, stressing that Ombudsman decisions are immediately executory and are not stayed by the filing of an appeal.

The petitioner cited Section 7, Rule III of the Ombudsman’s Rules of Procedure, a rule affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Ingking, a registered voter and member of the anti-corruption organization Lihok Bol-anon Batok Korapsyon, maintains that because Yap is perpetually disqualified, he has no legal basis to serve as a member of the House of Representatives.

The filing further alleges that Yap committed fraudulent misrepresentation when he declared in his sworn certificate of nomination that he possessed all the necessary qualifications and none of the disqualifications for the position.

Yap was proclaimed as Murang Kuryente’s first nominee on 2 October 2025, after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualified the initial winner, the Duterte Youth Partylist.

Murang Kuryente did not initially garner enough votes to secure a congressional seat but was awarded one following the disqualification.

The petition asks the HRET to remove Yap from office, which would allow the Murang Kuryente Partylist’s second nominee to assume the seat.