An election win technically isn’t off the table for the Duterte Youth party-list, whose proclamation was suspended on Monday, May 19, as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) prepares to tackle the party-list’s two disqualification petitions. The news was announced during the proclamation ceremony that same day.
Duterte Youth came second in the party-list race, amassing 2,336,140 votes that would have guaranteed them three seats in the House of Representatives. Its nominees are incumbent Duterte Youth Representative Drixie Mae Cardema, Berlin Lingwa, and Ron Godfrey Bawalan.
The party-list has held one seat in Congress since 2019, the same year the first disqualification petition was filed against them. Youth leaders Reeya Beatrice Magtalas, Abigail Aleli Tan, Raainah Punzalan, and Aundell Ross Angcos filed a petition in September 2019 to nullify Duterte Youth’s registration as a party-list because it didn’t meet requirements. In particular, the Constitution and Party-List System Act requires the publication of a petition in two national newspapers and a hearing to establish a party-list, but the petitioners argued that these requirements were not met. In March 2025, election watchdog Kabataan Tayo ang Pag-asa (KTAP) filed a motion for the Comelec to resolve the 2019 petition.
On May 8, a second disqualification petition hit Duterte Youth. In the petition, student leaders from the University of the Philippines, and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and the Youth Alliance for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) alleged that Duterte Youth Chairperson Ronald Cardema violated Comelec’s anti-discrimination rules prohibiting labeling and red-tagging.
GMA News reports that the party-list had tagged individuals and other party-lists as communists in Facebook posts and livestreams between February to April 2025. The individuals include former Kabataan Party-list Representative Sarah Elago and incumbent Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel.
On Tuesday, May 20, Ronald Cardema filed a petition before the Supreme Court asking it to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Comelec’s decision.
“Nagpapa-TRO po tayo doon sa ginawa ng Comelec,” he told reporters. “Sa tingin po natin, merong grave abuse of discretion ang Comelec kahapon.”
He added that the party-list was not informed of the suspension until the day of the proclamation. “Sinabihan lang kami na hindi kami kasama sa proclamation tanghali, bago mag-proclamation mismo. Kung sinabi nila last week ‘yon, edi nagawan namin ng paraan. Pero parang sinadya, tatlo, apat na oras bago ang proclamation saka kayo magsasabi na ‘di kayo kasali.”
Historical Case
Other party-lists have been disqualified for misrepresenting sectors, like the Ang Galing Pinoy party-list that claimed to represent security guards and 1-United Transport Koalisyon (1-UTAK) in 2012. But no party-lists have been suspended and disqualified by Comelec after violating anti-discrimination rules, making Duterte Youth’s case the first of its kind.
On May 8, Pasig City congressional candidate Christian “Ian” Sia was disqualified after making a lewd joke about single mothers on April 3. In a little over a month, the Comelec had issued a show-cause order for Sia to explain his offense before it decided to disqualify him.
Whether Duterte Youth will be disqualified is still uncertain. The petitioners now have to present proof before the Comelec that it did not conduct a hearing prior to the party-list’s registration, and that Cardema and the party engaged in red-tagging, as suggested by legal firm Respicio Law in a post.
But you can expect the Comelec to come to a resolution before the party-list is proclaimed an election winner.
“Considering the serious allegations raised in the above petitions which involved grave violation of election laws, the National Board of Canvassers resolves to suspend the proclamation of Duterte Youth Party-list and Bagong Henerasyon Party-lists until the speedy and judicious resolution of the petitions filed before the Clerk of Commission,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Monday.
He also said that the pending disqualification cases are expected to be resolved by June 30, after the election period but before the 20th Congress adjourns.
