Comelec: Anti-Duterte Youth letters won’t impact coming decision
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday said that filing of letters urging the poll body to act on a petition or case will not influence the progress of its resolution.
This is what Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia answered when asked if the filing of letters of several groups to urge the Comelec to disqualify Duterte Youth Party-list will make the poll body act on the petitions faster.
“Technically, dapat wala and hindi po dapat po makakaapekto o makakaimpluwensya ang isang liham o sulat para pabilisin yung kaso o paburan kung sino man,” Garcia told reporters in an interview.
(Technically, a letter should not affect or influence to fast track the resolution of a case or be in favor of someone.)
READ: No to dynasty backdoor! Groups urge Comelec to disqualify Duterte Youth
Groups including Gabriela Youth, Anakbayan, and Kabataan Tayo ang Pag-asa on Tuesday urged the Comelec to disqualify Duterte Youth from the 2025 elections and the party-list system. The proclamation of the party-list was suspended by the Comelec last May 19 amid pending cases.
The groups underscored that the party-list does not truly represent the youth.
READ: Comelec: No proclamation yet for BH Party-list amid DQ case dismissal
“Otherwise, mangyayari don, lahat na lang po susulat sa Comelec para paburan na mapabilis ang kaso. Hindi po gano’n ang pagdispose natin sa kaso na ganyan,” Garcia added.
(Otherwise, what will happen is everyone will write to the Comelec to be in favor or resolve the case. That’s not how case disposal works.)
Garcia said that while the letters will not influence the action on the case, the poll body will still accept them.
Case progress
When asked of the progress of the cases against the party-list, Garcia said that there is already a resolution. However, Garcia said that he is not aware of what will happen since he is not a part of the action from the division level.
Garcia also said that the release of the resolution follows a thorough process at the division level where the ponente, or the one who writes the decision, will have to circulate the decision among their members. The members will have to study and decide if they will express their dissent or support the ruling.
Meanwhile, he reiterated the poll body’s commitment to resolve the case as soon as possible. Garcia previously vowed that all pending cases against national candidates will be done before they assume their office on June 30.
When asked why the resolution of the case of Bagong Henerasyon Party-list is faster than the Duterte Youth Party-list, Garcia noted that the disqualification of the BH party-list was dismissed on technical grounds. The petitioner failed to attach supplementary documents and copy-furnish the petition to the respondents.
“Dito sa Duterte Youth, complicated. It goes into the very heart of the issue ng accreditation,” Garcia said.
(The [case] of Duterte Youth is complicated. It goes into the very heart of the issue of accreditation.)
In 2019, youth leaders filed a petition seeking to nullify the party-lists registration status since the Comelec en banc approved it without the publication of its petition and without holding proper hearing on its application, which are mandated under the Party-list System Act. /cb
