Duterte Youth party-list retains Cardema as nominee despite disqualification

The Duterte Youth party-list still nominated former National Youth Commission Chairperson Ronald Cardema as its first nominee even though the Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division already disqualified him as Duterte Youth party-list nominee due to being overage.

The certificate of nomination submitted by Duterte Youth party-list and received by the Comelec Law department on August 6 lists Cardema as the first nominee, followed by his wife Ducielle Cardema as second nominee.

Ducielle's name is written on the first line, followed by the names of other nominees Guillermo Villarreal, Jr., Krizza Reyes, and Robert Garcia on the succeeding lines.

Ronald's name is then written above Ducielle's, with the words "1st nominee" in parenthesis.

Duterte Youth party-list nominates Ducielle Cardema, wife of Ronald Cardema, as Duterte Youth party-list rep in the aftermath of Comelec First Division decision disqualifying Ronald Cardema due to being over the age limit set by the law on youth sector party-list reps @gmanews pic.twitter.com/gEPArlIatc

— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) August 7, 2019

Ducielle, who is 27 years old, is within the 25–30 age limit set by the Party-list law for representative of youth party-list groups.

Ronald is already 34 years old.

'Mockery of the party-list system'

Lawyer Emilio Marañon, counsel for the youth groups who successfully sought the disqualification of Cardema, tagged Duterte Youth’s move as illegal since the Party-list law prohibits the alteration of the order of nominees after it has been submitted to Comelec.

“This substitution is yet another mockery of the party-list system, of the Comelec and of the general public and, thus, should not be allowed by the Commission en banc,” Marañon said in a statement.

“The obvious intention is to secure the Congressional seat to Ronald Cardema’s wife, Ducielle, should the cancellation of the former’s nomination is affirmed by the Comelec en banc. This new ploy exposes the depravity of Duterte Youth and its corporate officers, fortifying our previous position that their registration should be cancelled,” Marañon added.

Having said that, Marañon said that their camp will file the appropriate petitions in the coming days.

Cardema can still appeal his disqualification before the Comelec en banc and all the way to the Supreme Court. But pending this case, the Comelec has decided not to issue him a certificate of proclamation, thus preventing him to be seated as a member of the House of Representatives.

Duterte Youth party-list won one seat in the May 2019 polls.

The Duterte Youth party-list initially submitted Ducielle Cardema, Gian Carlo Galang, Catherine Santos, Sharah Shane Makabali, and Kerwin Pagaran as nominees, before Ronald Cardema made a last-minute substitution bid on May 12, a day before the election. — BM, GMA News