Two more party-list groups – Murang Kuryente and Ang Probinsyano – have been proclaimed as members of the House of Representatives in the 20th Congress, following the disqualification of Duterte Youth party-list.
At the House plenary session on Thursday, Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos moved to allow Murang Kuryente party-list Rep. Arthur Yap and Ang Probinsyano Rep. Alfred delos Santos take their oath respectively before Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III.
Marcos made the motion following a Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclamation.
‘Madam Speaker, we are in receipt of the proclamation issued by the Commission on Elections declaring Murang Kuryente party-list as winner under the party-list system in the national and local elections on the 12th of May 2025, and to entitle its nominee, Arthur C. Yap, to sit as its representative in the House of Representatives of the Congress of the Philippines,’ Marcos said.
‘Pursuant to the aforementioned proclamation, I move to allow Arthur C. Yap, representative of Murang Kuryente party-list, to take oath in open session,’ he added. Marcos made a similar motion for delos Santos. Both motions were separately approved by Deputy Speaker Kristine Singson-Meehan; no one objected.
Prior to Murang Kuryente and Ang Probinsyano, Abono party-list Rep. Robert Raymond Estralla also took his oath of office before Dy.
This means three party-list seats left vacant due to the Duterte Youth party-list’s disqualification are filled up.
Duterte Youth won three seats in the 2025 midterm elections, ranking second with 2.338 million votes. However, the group was disqualified by Comelec based on the following grounds:
Untruthful statements in its petition, particularly on the eligibility of its nominees
No bona fide intention to represent the sector for which the petition has been filed and thus, preventing a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate
It has advocated for violence or unlawful means to achieve its goal
It was established that it is an adjunct or an entity funded or assisted by the National Youth Commission
On Tuesday, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said the Comelec en banc decided with finality to cancel Duterte Youth’s registration.
‘The clerk of this Commission just issued today a certificate of finality and entry of judgment on the decision of the en banc [regarding the cancellation of Duterte Youth’s registration],’ Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said on Tuesday in an online interview with reporters.
According to him, the poll body en banc will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the effects of the issuance of the certificate, particularly which party list groups will benefit from the three House seats originally allotted to Duterte Youth.
Garcia said the Comelec came out with the certificate of finality after the Supreme Court did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) within 30 days after the en banc upheld the cancellation of the party list group’s registration on August 29.
Originally, the House had a total of 317 seats, but the number grew to 318 following Comelec’s decision to allocate 64 seats to party-lists, instead of just 63.
During the canvassing done by the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) last May 15, a lawyer of the Philreca party-list said their computation shows that there should be 64 party-list seats and not just 63 – asking Garcia to heed their call.
In response, Garcia, sitting as the NBOC head, asked groups to provide their position papers on various issues like the number of seats. After the adjustment, Comelec proclaimed Gabriela Women’s Party as a winner of the party-list race. Last September 23, former Kabataan solon and now Gabriela party-list Rep. Sarah Elago took her oath of office as a member of the House.