Comelec: Nat’l cases done June 30
Commission on Elections Chair George Erwin Garcia answers questions during a press conference at Manila Hotel’s Tent City on Friday, May 16, 2025. —Photo by Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has committed to resolve all pending disqualification and cancellation of candidacy cases involving candidates for national positions before they assume office by the end of June.
“Our timeline is to resolve before June 30 disqualification and cancellation of candidacy cases involving national positions such as senators, party list representatives, as well as legislative district congressmen,” Comelec Chair George Garcia said on dzBB on Saturday.
The poll body chief said the Comelec is processing “thousands” of pending cases, but assured the public that it would be releasing its decisions on these cases “in the coming days.”
READ: Duterte Youth head hit for ‘bullying’ Comelec
Garcia said that even if a candidate has been proclaimed already or lost in the polls, the Comelec will still issue a decision.
“A disqualification case has two faces: removal from public office, or an election offense or criminal case. They may escape disqualification but they may not get off the hook from an election offense,” he said.
An election offense is punishable by imprisonment up to six years without probation, perpetual disqualification from holding public office, and deprivation of the right to vote.
Among the cases waiting to be resolved are the two cases involving the Duterte Youth party list, whose proclamation was suspended by the Comelec on May 19.
It would have been the third consecutive election that the party secured seats. Their performance for the 2025 midterm elections was their best yet: ranked second after garnering more than 2.3 million votes and poised to get the maximum three seats. Duterte Youth only got a seat in the 2019 and 2022 elections.
“Even if we proclaim them as winners, as long as they have not yet taken oath and assumed office by June 30, then the Comelec still has jurisdiction over the pending cases against them. We can still disqualify them,” Garcia told reporters on Tuesday in Quezon City.
“Will it not be more painful if we proclaim these candidates, then in the end they will just be disqualified because we cancel their accreditation?” he said.
Garcia refused to comment on why the past Comelec leaderships did not act on the 2019 petition to cancel the registration of Duterte Youth.
He said they will have more than enough time to resolve the pending cases against Duterte Youth before their nominees could assume posts as party list representatives.
Still pending
“It is the obligation of the Comelec to resolve these cases so that there will be no doubts when they fully assume their posts by June 30,” Garcia said.
Election watchdog Kontra Daya flagged Duterte Youth for having ties with the police and military, which have been engaged in Red-tagging activists and human rights workers, as well as dissidents of the Duterte administration.
Its first nominee is incumbent Duterte Youth Rep. Drixie Mae Suarez Cardema, 28, a military reservist with a rank of lieutenant colonel. She is the sister of Ducielle Suarez Cardema, wife of Ronald and the former representative of the party list during the 18th Congress.
Watchdogs, however, question why Drixie was able to use the Cardema surname in her certificate of nomination and acceptance (Cona) submitted before the Comelec.
The second and third nominees were Berlin Lingwa, 26, graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy; and Ron Godfrey Bawalan, 26, graduate of the Philippine Military Academy. Based on their Conas, both of them listed “youth leader,” as their occupation.
The first case against Duterte Youth was filed on Sept. 3, 2019 by youth leaders Reeya Beatrice Magtalas, Abigail Aleli Tan, Raainah Punzalan and Aundell Ross Angcos, with former Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. and election lawyer Emil Marañon serving as counsels. Brillantes died on Aug. 11, 2020, due to COVID-19 without seeing the resolution of their petition.
They argued that Duterte Youth’s registration as party list should be voided since the Comelec en banc approved it without the publication of its petition and without holding a proper hearing on its application in violation of the Republic Act No. 7941, or the Party-List System Act. /cb
