This came a few hours before the proclamation of 63 winning party-lists on Monday, when the Comelec suspended the proclamation of 2 winning party-lists due to pending cases.
Comelec chairman George Garcia did not mention the names of the two groups but said one has three seats, while the other has two. Duterte Youth is one of the three partylists that won three seats.
“Considering the serious allegations raised in the petitions filed against these party-lists, the national board decided to suspend their proclamation. They won but suspended ang kanilang proclamation,” Garcia explained to national media.
The Duterte Youth took to social media on Monday, stating that the “serious allegations” the Comelec cited were the case filed by the Kabataan partylist in 2019, which they had already addressed.
“If the allegations of Kabataan Party-List were really very serious in 2019, why did Comelec allow Duterte Youth Party-List to 1. Assume in Congress after the 2019 elections, 2. Be elected again and assume in Congress after the 2022 elections, and be elected again in the 2025 elections wherein millions of Filipino Voters elected Duterte Youth Party-List to be their Representatives in Congress,” Drixie Cardema, partylist first nominee, said.
The group added that it was not their fault the Comelec did not dismiss the “hao shao case” after its last hearing in 2019, and that the Comelec is undermining the votes of the Filipino by delaying their proclamation.
“The case filed by the Kabataan Party-List has already been answered by the Duterte Youth Party-List in 2019 and can clearly be seen by the people as a pure harassment case,” it added.
Duterte Youth said the Kabataan claims are pure allegations, such as the group was not registered in the Comelec, when the poll body will not allow a non-registered entity to join the elections.
The group also denied the “vote buying” claims and promoting violence, and “other very similar baseless allegations raised against the Duterte Youth Party-List, but until now cannot be proven by these crazy accusers.”
“Sinagot na namin lahat yan sa Comelec noong 2019, mga mababaw na issue na wala naman katotohanan. Pinaupo na kami noon after manalo sa 2019 elections, pinaupo na kami after manalo sa 2022 elections, at ngayon na milyon-milyong Pilipino ang bumoto samin, ngayon mismong araw ng proclamation sasabihin na i-hold muna dahil serious yung allegation ng Kabataan Party-List noong 2019,” the group said.
“Kung ganun ka-seryoso yun bakit hindi niyo agad dinecisionan after noong huling hearing natin noong 2019 pa. This is definitely a grave abuse of discretion para lang i-hold now ang pinili ng milyon-milyong Pilipino, election na nga lang ang proof na may demokrasya pa sa bansa, paglalaruan niyo pa kung sino ang makakaupo sa binoto ng milyon-milyong botante,” it added.
The group stressed that their candidates are scholars, and not rebels against the government.
The three nominees under Duterte Youth are Drixie Cardema, 28, from the University of the Philippines (UP). A military reservist and Vice-Chairperson of the House Committee on National Defense & Security, Author of the Anti-NPA Bill; Berlin Lingwa, 26, from the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), classmate of Lieutenants in the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), & Bureau of Jail Management & Penology (BJMP); and Ron Bawalan, 26, from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), classmate of Lieutenants in the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, & Philippine Navy.
“Sinasabi ko sa inyo Comelec at sa nagkokontrol sa Comelec, kapag kami hindi ninyo pinaupo at hinayaan lamang magsalita sa adbokasiya namin sa bansa, sasabihin namin sa taumbayan lahat ng kalokohan sa kongreso at Comelec kung pano nagkakapera ng milyon-milyon sa mga decisions, accreditations, and projects at funds ang karamihan sa inyo dyan,” the group stressed.
During the proclamation, Garcia said the decision was after the recommendation of the Supervisory Committee to suspend the Duterte Youth by virtue of A.) SBB 19-009 filed by Ria Beatrice Magtalas, Abigail Alili Tan, Reyna Punzalan and Aurel Angcos; and B.) SBB 25-008 filed by Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines National Coordinator Rachel Pansanjan, and others.
“Considering the serious allegation raised in the above petition, which involves a grave violation of election laws, the National Board of Canvassers resolves to suspend the proclamation of Duterte Youth and Bagong Henerasyon until the speedy and judicious resolution of the petition filed under the clerk of the commission,” Garcia announced.
