No certificate of proclamation to be given to Duterte Youth yet – Guanzon

MANILA, Philippines – No certificate of proclamation will be given yet to the Duterte Youth party-list following the disqualification of its first nominee Ronald Cardema, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, Duterte Youth could appeal to the Comelec regarding its decision to cancel the nomination of Cardema, Guanzon said.

“They have the right to appeal to the Commission en banc and all the way to the Supreme Court, but the Comelec en banc has ruled that we will not issue a certificate of proclamation to Duterte Youth pending the litigation of this case, especially that he has been found disqualified by the Comelec First Division,” Guanzon said at a press conference.

“The Secretary-General of the House of Representatives already said that they would abide by the decision of the Comelec, which means they will not allow Cardema to assume office,” Guanzon added.

The Duterte Youth was one of the party-list groups that secured a seat in the House of Representatives during the midterm polls.

On Monday, the Comelec First Division canceled the nomination bid of Cardema due to material misrepresentation committed by him.

READ: Comelec cancels Cardema’s nomination

During his application before the Comelec, Cardema took an oath that he is eligible to represent the youth sector even though he is already 34 years old.

Under the law, anyone who intends to run as a representative of a youth sector should only be between 25 and 30 years old.

Guanzon already filed a memorandum to the Comelec law department to probe Cardema for material misrepresentation.