Elly Velez Lao Pamatong, commonly known as Elly Pamatong, was a Filipino lawyer, politician and the self-proclaimed President of the Philippines known for his attempts to participate in Philippine elections.
24 Facts About Elly Pamatong
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Elly Pamatong was a Philippine lawyer who obtained his law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law.
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Elly Pamatong has called on the high court to reverse the decision.
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Elly Pamatong joined the Moro National Liberation Front and served as the legal counsel of MNLF founder Nur Misuari, but the MNLF later cut ties with him following the spike attacks he incited in 2004.
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Elly Pamatong was accepted as a candidate in the 1987 Philippine Senate election.
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Elly Pamatong attempted to run for president in the 2004 and 2010 Philippine elections but his candidacy was not accepted with the COMELEC declaring him as a nuisance candidate for both elections.
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Elly Pamatong made it to the ballot in elections to the House of Representatives.
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Elly Pamatong would proclaim himself as president of the Philippines in 2017, disputing the leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte.
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Elly Pamatong led his own organization called the United States Allied Freedom Fighters of the East.
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Elly Pamatong has reportedly held the title "reverend attorney general" within the group.
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Elly Pamatong's USAFFE was established in 2003 and was based on a compound in Cagayan de Oro owned by Edmundo Pamintuan who was a client of Elly Pamatong as a lawyer who led the Back to Christ Discovery Crusade group.
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When Pamintuan died in 2002, Elly Pamatong recruited members of the Christ Discovery Crusade as part of his USAFFE, which he claimed to be a holdover of the original United States Army Forces in the Far East of World War II.
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The USAFFE was allegedly involved in a plot to bomb Ninoy Aquino International Airport in 2014 and Elly Pamatong was arrested for his suspected involvement.
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In January 2019, Elly Pamatong burned the flags of China and Malaysia on two occasions on behalf of his group.
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Elly Pamatong burned the Chinese flag as protest against the "economic colonisation" and "dismemberment" of the Philippines by the People's Republic of China.
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Elly Pamatong's actions towards the Malaysian flag was a protest against what he calls the "continuing invasion" of Sabah by Malaysia.
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Elly Pamatong has previously been charged for declaring himself as president of the Philippines, among other criminal acts.
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Elly Pamatong called on his supporters to spread spikes on roads as a protest against corruption of the administration of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as well as refusal of government authorities to issue he and his supporters permit to organize a rally.
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An outspoken critic of then-President Rodrigo Duterte, Elly Pamatong filed a quo warranto petition before the Supreme Court in June 2018.
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Elly Pamatong sought to oust Duterte, on the grounds that his certificate of candidacy in the 2016 presidential election was illegal.
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On July 24,2021, Elly Pamatong died at the age of 78 due to cardiac arrest.
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Elly Pamatong's body was cremated and the remains were in-urned on August 1,2021.
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The USAFFE, Elly Pamatong's group, kept the urn in a chapel in Arayat.
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Elly Pamatong is considered a prophet in a local religious group called Immortal White Rock Church of Enoch and Elijah, Inc, a church based in Davao City.