The Tyrant’s Cronies
Proclamation of the Duterte Youth Party-list
More than a year after the 2019 elections, the controversial Duterte Youth party-list has not seated a representative. Yet after constant flip-flopping and withdrawals, it seems as if they will finally have a seat in Congress. During their budget hearings, the Commission on Elections revealed that four commissioners have signed the resolution to give Duterte Youth a seat and that they will be able to release the coveted Certificate of Proclamation within the week.
Why shouldn’t Duterte Youth gain a seat in Congress? Youth organizations and veteran election lawyers have voiced in unison their opposition to the proclamation. They will take it to the Supreme Court if ever the proclamation goes through. One of the lawyers contesting the proclamation of Duterte Youth, Atty. Emil Maranon said in his statement that this proclamation is the most unconstitutional act that the Comelec has done in its 80-year history. Even Senator Lacson has said that Duterte Youth is one of the reasons why the party-list system is a joke. Despite overwhelming evidence that the party-list is unconstitutional, it is days away from being proclaimed. Here are some reasons why that should not be the case.
The legal arguments against Duterte Youth alone paint a clear picture of why the party-list should not gain a seat. It does not meet the minimum requirements of publication, it is not duly-registered by the COMELEC, and allegedly most of its members are not even members of the youth. In fact, their first nominee Ronald Cardema was over the age limit. He was 34 during election day. That is four years above the limit of 30 years old as written in the Party-List system act. A unity statement signed by 122 youth organizations reads that the party-list is not duly-registered, and its proclamation is considered unconstitutional. As a matter of fact, Atty. Maranon added that the proclamation of the Duterte Youth party-list would be easily revoked if the law were followed.
One could even argue that the party-list does not follow the spirit of why the entire party-list system was created in the first place. The aforementioned unity statement says that:
“By its name alone, Duterte Youth shows it does not serve the Filipino Youth. It is mostly led by non-youth individuals and is nothing but a cheap, lying, and willing puppet of a regime that has lost the confidence and support of the Filipino youth.”
And when one reads the declaration of policy as written in the Party-list act, it’s hard to argue against that.
“The State shall promote proportional representation in the election of representatives to the House of Representatives through a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations or coalitions thereof, which will enable Filipino citizens belonging to marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties, and who lack well-defined political constituencies but who could contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole, to become members of the House of Representatives.”
In a Congress dominated by allies of Duterte, how can another Duterte-allied party consider itself marginalized and under-represented?
Still, in the spirit of fairness, the main issue at question is the proclamation of the party-list. Yet such a seemingly simple question can cause major political and judicial impacts throughout the societal landscape of the Philippines, and it seems like everything is going against the proclamation of the party-list from its legal standing to its existence under the Party-list Act.
Only time can tell what will become of this issue, but one thing is for sure: The future of the nation lies in the hands of the hard-working youth, who are slowly coming to terms with the societal, economical, and political landscape of their world. Altogether, we can put the right representatives, who serve the interests and fight for the rights of the marginalized, in power. Register to vote, exercise your democratic rights and continue resisting tyranny.
