Duterte Youth loses claim to 3 House seats
Three more party list seats in the House of Representatives are up for distribution after the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) en banc decision canceling the registration of Duterte Youth officially became final.
“The clerk of this Commission just issued today a certificate of finality and entry of judgment on the decision of the en banc [regarding the cancellation of Duterte Youth’s registration],” Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said on Tuesday in an online interview with reporters.
According to him, the poll body en banc will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the effects of the issuance of the certificate, particularly which party list groups will benefit from the three House seats originally allotted to Duterte Youth.
Garcia said the Comelec came out with the certificate of finality after the Supreme Court did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) within 30 days after the en banc upheld the cancellation of the party list group’s registration on Aug. 29.
“This means the decision is final as far as the Comelec is concerned, and the decision of the Commission en banc can now be implemented,” he explained.
On Sept. 3, Duterte Youth filed a petition for a TRO before the high tribunal to stop the Comelec en banc from cancelling its registration.
This was after the poll body’s Second Division issued a resolution on June 18 declaring Duterte Youth’s registration void from that beginning.
It also cited the party list group for committing prohibited acts under the election law, such as the lack of bona fide intention to represent the youth sector, advocating violence and getting assistance from the government.
The Second Division’s ruling was based on a petition filed by youth leaders in 2019, which sought to nullify the group’s registration for not following the procedures mandated under the Party-list System Act.
The petitioners said the Comelec en banc had approved the registration of Duterte Youth even though its application to participate in party list elections was not published first in at least two newspapers of general circulation, and there was no proper hearing held on its application for accreditation.
Appeal denied
The Comelec en banc later affirmed the Second Division’s ruling, denying the motion for reconsideration filed by the party list group on June 23. The en banc said Duterte Youth failed to raise substantial evidence when it sought to reverse the ruling of the Second Division.
During the May midterm elections, Duterte Youth came in second in the party list race, entitling it to three House seats. However, its proclamation was deferred pending the resolution of cases filed against it.
It was founded in 2016 by Ronald Cardema to support then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s presidential campaign. The group ran in the party list race in the 2019 and 2022 elections and won one House seat both times.
