Duterte Youth to Challenge Comelec Proclamation Suspension

THE Duterte Youth Partylist announced it will challenge what it called the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec’s) “grave abuse of discretion” before the Supreme Court, following the suspension of the proclamation of its three nationally elected representatives.

In a statement, the partylist said that Congresswoman Drixie Cardema (re-elected), Congressman-elect Berlin Lingwa, and Congressman-elect Ron Bawalan have been unfairly suspended despite being elected by 2.3 million Filipinos. The group claimed that the COMELEC is deliberately derailing their proclamation.

Comelec suspended the proclamation of the Duterte Youth Partylist due to pending petitions against it. The resolution was issued during the proclamation of winning partylist groups.

Comelec Chairman Erwin Garcia said the commission also suspended the proclamation of Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Partylist due to “serious allegations” involving violations of election laws. The suspension will remain in effect until the petitions are resolved by the Clerk of the Commission.

Among the allegations are claims that the Duterte Youth Partylist submitted false information about the ages of its nominees. 

Under Republic Act No. 7941 or the Party-List System Act, nominees representing the youth sector must be at least 25 but not older than 30 years old on election day. However, those who turn 30 during their term may continue to serve until their term ends.

In its defense, the Duterte Youth Partylist questioned the timing of the suspension, pointing out that similar allegations were made in 2019, yet they were still allowed to assume office and were re-elected in 2022 and again in 2025.

“It is not the fault of the Duterte Youth Party-List if the Comelec did not dismiss that “hao shao case” after its last hearing in 2019, and now Comelec is trying to subvert the votes of the Filipino people by delaying an election proclamation scheduled today,” the group said in its May 19 statement.

The partylist also denied allegations such as being unregistered, engaging in vote-buying, or promoting violence, calling the claims baseless. They added that they have already submitted their response to the case filed by Kabataan Partylist.

Furthermore, Duterte Youth warned that if their representatives can’t assume office and push their advocacies, they will expose alleged corruption within Congress and the Comelec, particularly involving individuals who allegedly profit from decisions, accreditations, and public funds.

Meanwhile, Atty. Renee Co, representative of Kabataan Partylist, welcomed the suspension and called it “deserved,” describing it as a significant step in the youth sector’s long-standing call for Duterte Youth’s disqualification.

“Ever since noong una silang tumakbo noong 2019, napansin na ang mga anomalya sa kanilang mga registration which are illegal and unconstitutional and of course bilang pagtingin natin na hindi sila totoong representative ng Kabataan hindi nila binitbit ever ang mga panawagan ng sektor ng kabataan (Since they first ran in 2019, issues surrounding their registration and qualifications have been flagged as illegal and unconstitutional. They have never truly represented the youth sector or advocated for our concerns),” Co said in a May 19 interview with national media.

She added that while the suspension is a welcome development, they will remain vigilant to ensure the disqualification proceedings continue.

Comelec proclaimed 54 partylist groups, excluding the two suspended groups — Duterte Youth and BH. These groups will occupy a total of 63 seats in Congress. Akbayan topped the list with 2,779,621 votes, followed by Duterte Youth with 2,338,564 votes, and Tingog with 1,822,708 votes. RGP