The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on June 18 that its 2nd Division cancelled the registration of the Duterte Youth Party-list following the case filed against them in 2019. The agency suspended the proclamation of the three Duterte Youth representatives to sit in the House of Representatives in May because of the case.
“Six years and three elections past, this move is long overdue,” said Kabataan, Tayo Ang Pag-asa (KTAP), a group of youth election watchdog. According to the group, this delay only exposes the rottenness of the country’s electoral politics. The group believes that the cancellation is a step in defending democracy in the country.
Various democratic groups and parties welcomed the Comelec’s decision. They expressed their commitment to continue monitoring the progress of the case, especially since the decision is not yet final and the Duterte Youth Party-list can still file an appeal or motion for reconsideration. This case may also reach the Supreme Court.
In 2019, youth leaders filed a petition to revoke the registration of Duterte Youth. They filed the disqualification case on the grounds of (1) lack of proper registration with Comelec as a party in the party-list system, (2) failure to comply with other legal requirements for recognition as a party under the system, and (3) actions showing that they do not represent the youth, such as the attempt in 2019 to nominate former National Youth Commission (NYC) Chairperson Ronald Cardema, a staunch Duterte loyalist, who was then 34 years old. Comelec rules specify that only those aged 30 and below may represent the youth.
Because Comelec was slow to issue a resolution on the petition, KTAP filed a “Motion to Resolve” in March to urge the agency to immediately decide on the disqualification case.
Meanwhile, on May 8, youth leaders filed a new petition with Comelec to cancel the registration of Duterte Youth because of its repeated and relentless Red-tagging. The petition demands revoking the party’s registration because it is Red-tagging or linking progressive senate candidates and party-list nominees with the armed revolutionary movement, which violates Comelec Resolution 11116 and Supplemental Resolution No. 11127.
The petitioners gathered Duterte Youth chairperson Ronald Cardema’s seven public statements of Red-tagging released from February to April during the campaign period. Comelec is yet to respond to the youth leaders’ new petition.
According to KTAP, in light of these anomalies, it is clear that the country’s electoral system needs comprehensive reform. “Especially in the representation of the party-list, which has strayed from its constitutional mandate to represent the marginalized,” the alliance stated.
They urged Comelec to use the case against the Duterte Youth Party-list as a basis to ban groups that circumvent election rules and misrepresent the marginalized sectors for personal interests. Comelec should also address the numerous reports of fraud in the 2025 midterm elections held in May.
