Cardema withdraws nomination as Duterte Youth party-list rep

Former National Youth Commission chair Ronald Cardema, who has been disqualified as nominee of Duterte Youth party-list for being overage, has withdrawn his nomination to prompt the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare the party-list as one of the winners in the May 2019 polls.

In a letter posted online by Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, Cardema described his move as a sacrifice that needs to be done for nation building, even as he continued to accuse Guanzon of bullying him.

“Even with our strong faith in the Comelec En Banc that it will side with our Motion for Reconsideration and will protect us now from the harassment of their corrupt colleague, with all humility, I withdraw from my nomination to sacrifice myself for our party-list so that the Comelec can immediately release the Certificate of Proclamation of the Comelec-approved succeeding nominee and to give justice to the votes of 350,000 Filipinos whom we desire to immediately serve,” Cardema said.

“It is my prayer that this personal sacrifice be accepted. May this be viewed as a fresh start for the Comelec and the pro-government Duterte Youth party-list, partnering towards nation building,” he added

Last month, Cardema was disqualified by the Comelec First Division, of which Guanzon is a member, as a nominee of Duterte Youth party-list for being beyond the age limit set by the law on party-list representatives for the youth sector.

Under the party-list law, a representative of a party-list group representing the youth sector should be aged between 25 to 30 years old on election day.  Cardema was already 34 years old on election day—a fact that he admitted during the Comelec First Division’s hearings on the validity of his nomination.

After he was disqualified, Cardema accused Guanzon of asking P2 million from his camp in exchange for the approval of Duterte Youth party-list's accreditation.

Guanzon has repeatedly denied Cardema's accusation.

Cardema later said that he asked a friend of his to give the P2 million to Guanzon’s emissary, and that Guanzon’s emissary received it. Cardema, however, could not say if Guanzon indeed received the P2 million.

Cardema’s motion for reconsideration on his disqualification is still pending before the Comelec’s First Division.

In his appeal, Cardema said his eligibility should be resolved by the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal and not by the Comelec.

Cardema cited the constitutional provision that states the Senate and the House of Representatives’ respective electoral tribunals have jurisdiction over all protests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective members.

Under House rules, however, an individual may only be deemed a member of the House of Representatives if there is a valid proclamation, a proper oath, and assumption of office.

While the Duterte Youth party-list garnered enough votes good for one seat in the House of Representatives, the Comelec has yet to issue a certificate of proclamation to the group due to Cardema's pending appeal on his lack of qualifications. —KBK, GMA News