Comelec Cancels Duterte Youth Party-list Registration Over Legal Violations

Comelec

The Comelec has cancelled the registration of the Duterte Youth Party-list for violating legal requirements and fielding ineligible nominees. The ruling, issued on June 18, 2025, is not yet final pending a possible appeal. (Image Credit: The Manila Times)

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The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has cancelled the registration of the Duterte Youth Party-list, officially known as Duty to Energize the Republic through the Enlightenment of the Youth Sectoral Party-list Organization, citing multiple violations of registration rules.

In a decision promulgated on June 18, 2025, the Comelec Second Division ruled in favor of a 2019 petition filed by Reeya Beatrice Magtalas, Abigail Aleli Tan, Raainah Punzalan, and Aunell Ross Angcos. The petition challenged the Duterte Youth’s registration on the grounds of non-compliance with jurisdictional and continuing requirements mandated for party-list groups.

The Comelec declared the party-listโ€™s registration โ€œvoid ab initio,โ€ or invalid from the outset, due to its failure to comply with the basic legal requirements of publication and hearingโ€”procedures meant to ensure transparency, accountability, and public participation in the registration process.

โ€œDuterte Youth cannot merely hide under the convenient excuse that the Commission had not required it to publish its petition or set a hearing,โ€ the ruling read. โ€œIt reflects poorly on the partyโ€™s commitment to transparency and accountability.โ€

The ruling also cited violations of Section 2 and Section 2(3), Rule 2 of Comelec Resolution No. 9366, including the fielding of ineligible nominees and the improper use of government machineryโ€”specifically the National Youth Commissionโ€”to promote their candidacy.

While political groups are free to choose their nominees, the Comelec emphasized that such freedom has limits, especially when representing a specific sector.

โ€œSection 9 of Republic Act 7941 clearly outlines the qualifications for party-list nominees, including the age requirement of at least 25 but not more than 35 years old on election day,โ€ the decision stated.

The commission criticized the Duterte Youth for accommodating an overaged nominee just hours before the May 13, 2019 elections, arguing that such a move undermined the partyโ€™s bona fide intent to represent the youth.

โ€œThe nominee must qualify to represent the sectorโ€”not the other way around. The sector cannot be tailored to fit the nominee’s profile,โ€ the ruling added.

Comelec had previously withheld the Duterte Youthโ€™s proclamation pending resolution of the case. Despite the legal controversy, the party-list ranked among the top three vote-getters in the most recent party-list elections.

Comelec Chairperson George Garcia clarified that the ruling is not yet final and executory. The Duterte Youth Party-list may still file a motion for reconsideration.

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