By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
QUEZON CITY — Duterte Youth Partylist Founder and Chairman Ronald Cardema on Friday (May 23) condemned the alleged lack of “equal treatment” on the proclamation of Partylist winners, saying “it’s only once that we will have democracy in our country.”
The Duterte Youth Partylist garnered 2.3 million votes in the recently-concluded midterm elections and placed No. 2 in the list of Partylist winners, however, its proclamation was suspended pending resolution of the disqualification cases filed against it.
In a press conference in Kamuning Bakery Café hosted by Wilson Lee Flores, Cardema said that the Duterte Youth Partylist was voted upon by more than 2.3 million Filipinos, and even in the local absentee voting (LAV), the Duterte Youth Partylist was also resoundingly voted upon.
Cardema added that the number of participants which was about 1.5 million nationwide in the grand rally last January for national unity was doubled with the Duterte Youth Partylist number of votes.
He cited that there was no “equal treatment” between the Duterte Youth Partylist and the Bayan Muna Partylist during the past elections.
Cardema noted that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has ordered the “courtesy resignation” of all Cabinet Members, and even the Civil Service Commission Chairperson tendered her resignation. Cardema was the former Chairman of the National Youth Commission (NYC).
He said that he is not “red tagging” as he was a former member of the Kabataan Partylist and Bayan Muna at the UP Los Banos in Laguna province, adding that, citing the death of a former rebel was not “red tagging”, but was he just stating the “fact”.
Cardema stressed that they filed the petition for certiorari and writ for preliminary injunction for grave abuse of discretion against the Comelec for excluding them in the proclamation of the Partylist winners in the recently concluded midterm elections.
The Comelec argued that the Duterte Youth Partylist committed serious allegation, that he is promoting mass murder, and that their Duterte Youth Partylist was not registered with the Comelec.
Cardema stressed that they have been existing for the last three elections in 2019 with 300,000 votes, in 2022 with 600,000 votes and in 2025 with 2.3 million votes.
“There is grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Comelec as they are just selecting those partylists which they would like to proclaim as winners,” he said.
Cardema expressed the hope that the Comelec will now stop “politicizing” the elections.
He termed the three cases filed against him as “haoshiao, haoshiao, haoshiao” such as “lack of registration, vote buying and promoting violence tantamount to mass murder.”
Cardema surmised that there’s the lack of “equal treatment” on the part of the Comelec such that the allies of the CPP-NPA-NDF were not disqualified, but the Duterte Youth Partylist, who will have the youngest PNPA and PMA nominees, were voted upon by 2.3 million Filipinos, but their proclamation was suspended pending the resolution of the disqualification cases filed against them.
He pointed out that Chairman Garcia has not yet filed his courtesy resignation as the latter does not believe in the “wisdom of the President” on whether or not to accept his resignation.
The Supreme Court has previously dismissed for lack of basis the three cases filed by the Kabataan Partylist against the Duterte Youth Partylist.
The CSC Chairperson has tendered her courtesy resignation after President Marcos sought the courtesy resignation of the Cabinet Members.
Atty. Ferdie Topacio, one of the lawyers of the Duterte Youth Partylist, to protest against what for him was the most politicized elections in the history of the Philippines.
Atty. Topacio asked why the lawyer of the President was appointed as Comelec Chairman. Chairman George Erwin Garcia is an active election lawyer such that even if he inhibits, there will always be a “cloud of doubt”.
“It is true in the Omnibus Election Code that you can suspend proclamation, but if there is a strong evidence, there is a serious allegation,” Atty. Topacio said.
He said that there should also be “equal protection” clause of the 1987 Constitution taking into consideration due process of law.
Topacio cited that the Comelec has sued his client for alleged “fake news”.
He also cited the Janice Degamo, the widow of the late Gov. Degamo, was even invited in Malacanang.
According to him, Janice Degamo is not a resident of the Second District of Negros Oriental.
He stressed that the Comelec is an independent Constitutional body and its Commissioners have a seven-year fixed term.
“The sprinkle of rise is higher than the source,” Atty. Topacio said.
He is still skeptical on the move of the President to order the courtesy resignation of all Cabinet Members.
Topacio surmised that Cassandro Ong was arbitrarily detained for five days at the NBI Detention Facility without a warrant of arrest from the court, but only a contempt order from the House of Representatives.
He stressed that there is no such thing as “serious allegation” in the Omnibus Election Code.
Topacio noted that the grounds being used by the Comelec for the disqualification of his client was “dubious”.
“Elections is the life blood of a truly Republican and democratic nation,” he said.
Atty. Harold Respicio, CPA-lawyers and newly-elected Vice-Mayor of Reyna Mercedes, Isabela, he asked that all should be held liable, specifically the Commissioners of the Comelec for alleged betrayal of public trust.
Respicio said that the source code review report was only released three days after the May 12 midterm elections, with the 3.0 version and it has not undergone audit.
He added that the Comelec made its own Data Center delayed it and then transmitted to the Transparency Server.
“I observed on the night of May 12 midterm election that there was only the speed of 76 kilobites. The average speed of networks is 35 megabites per second. It took them several minutes to transmit. It’s neither the problem of the signal nor the networks, means that, they were doing something in the middle of the transmission or there was an interruption,” Respicio said.
“Comelec did not transmit almost real time the results of the election returns. It betrayed public trust,” he added.
“With the intent of disrupting the elections for allegedly proliferating fake news,” Respicio said was the allegation hurled against him to disqualify him to be proclaimed as the duly-elected Vice Mayor of Reyna Mercedes, Isabela.
He said that he had no intention of disrupting the elections, adding that, the Comelec was wrong in condemning him without the benefit of a hearing or due process of law. ###
