Comelec urged to halt Duterte Youth proclamation over unresolved petition

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The five-year-old petition argues that Duterte Youth should not have been allowed to register as a party-list group without fulfilling requirements stated in relevant laws

MANILA, Philippines – A lawyer for a youth-led election watchdog argued that the Duterte Youth should not be included in the party-list proclamation due to an unresolved petition seeking to void its registration for allegedly misrepresenting the youth.

In a statement on Sunday, May 18, election lawyer Emil Marañon III said that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should act on the five-year-old petition before allowing Duterte Youth to join the incoming 20th Congress.

The proclamation of party-list groups is set to happen on Monday afternoon, May 29. 

“It is not only prudent, but it is a legal necessity to suspend the proclamation of Duterte Youth until petitioners’ case is resolved,” Marañon said. 

“In other words, the conclusive settlement of the issue of the status of Duterte Youth is a prejudicial question that must first be resolved prior to its proclamation,” he added. 

The petition was first filed in 2019 by Reeya Beatrice Magtalas, Abigail Aleli Tan, Raainah Punzalan, and Aundell Ross Angcos, with former Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. serving as counsel. 

They argued then that it is “illegal and unconstitutional” for the Duterte Youth to be allowed registration without fulfilling the publication and hearing requirements, as stated in the 1987 Constitution and the Party-List System Act. 

The same youth leaders — under the Kabataan Tayo ang Pag-asa electoral watchdog group — revived the proceedings on March 25 by filing with the Comelec an urgent motion to resolve the 2019 petition. 

The last update on the petition was a hearing in December 2019 which Duterte Youth representatives failed to attend. The Comelec’s Second Division, meanwhile, ordered both parties to submit a memorandum within 10 days of the hearing but no further action was taken. 

Duterte Youth has received at least 2,327,549 votes or 5.59% of votes counted so far, with 99.12% precincts reporting. 

A party-list group must secure at least 2% of the total votes to be guaranteed a seat in Congress. Comelec, however, may allocate seats to groups that fall below this threshold, in order to fill the 20% quota of party-list representation in the House.

Duterte Youth first joined Congress after winning a seat in the 2019 midterm elections. Election lawyers then called the group’s proclamation following the polls as “easily the most unconstitutional act” by the Comelec in its 80-year history.   – Rappler.com