The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has reaffirmed in finality its decision to cancel the registration of the Duterte Youth Party-list, effectively leaving three seats in the 20th Congress up for grabs.
In its September 30 ruling made public on October 1, the Comelec en banc affirmed that Duterte Youth’s registration was invalid from the beginning for failing to publish its petition and hearing notice, a responsibility of the party-list rather than the poll body.
Beyond the jurisdictional requirement, the poll body also cited six grounds to cancel Duterte Youth’s registration.
Among these were ‘untruthful statements’ on its nominees’ eligibility and the mass withdrawal of nominees in 2019, which led chairperson Ronald Cardema to attempt a substitution despite being over the age limit to represent the youth.
Comelec called this ‘back-and-forth switching’ a ‘mockery’ in the election process.
The en banc also upheld the view that Duterte Youth failed to prove its genuine intent to represent the youth sector, adding that its calls for violence against groups it branded as subversive, including activists, went beyond political rhetoric.
The last two grounds cited by the poll body were violations of election rules and laws, particularly the National Youth Commission’s support for Duterte Youth. Cardema chaired the NYC Luzon Commission from 2017 to 2018 before being promoted to national chair later that year.
Comelec also explained that the ruling became immediately executory since the Supreme Court did not issue any temporary restraining order within 30 days of Duterte Youth’s receipt of the decision to deny the party-list’s motion for reconsideration.
Cardema, in a Facebook post, accused the poll body of accepting bribes to cancel the group’s claim to three House seats.
Duterte Youth’s canceled registration was borne out of a 2019 disqualification petition filed by four private individuals, with the Comelec eventually echoing their arguments in its 2025 decision.
The party-list, whose name stands for ‘Duty To Energize the Republic Through the Enlightenment of the Youth,’ has long aligned itself with the Duterte administration and family since it was founded in 2016.
In the 2025 party-list race, it received about 2.34 million votes, placing second and earning three seats under the Party-List System Act.
But with its final disqualification, the suspended proclamation was voided – and the three seats are now expected to go to party-lists that originally fell short of the cutoff.
Comelec Chair George Garcia said the three party-lists set to take over Duterte Youth’s seats will be proclaimed on Thursday, October 2.
Based on the party-list rankings, Abono, Ang Probinsiyano and Murang Kuryente could each secure one seat.