Duterte Youth asks SC to review, block and void Guanzon substitution as party-list rep
MANILA, Philippines — The Duterte Youth party-list, its House representative, and her husband, are asking the Supreme Court to review the Commission on Elections' decision to allow former poll commissioner Rowena Guanzon to substitute as nominee for a party-list for PWDs, saying the substitution happened past deadline.
Guanzon, in 2019, opposed a similar substitution within the Duterte Youth, denying then-National Youth Commission Chairperson Ronald Cardema a seat at the House. Ronald and Rep. Ducielle Marie Cardema mentioned the incident in their petition, saying they had been "harassed repeatedly by [Guanzon] in the media and social media on the issue of party-list substitution."
The Cardemas filed an Urgent Petition for Certiorari asking the court to issue an order to stop COMELEC from issuing Guanzon a Certificate of Proclamation and for the House of Representatives to keep Guanzon and any other subsitutes for the P3PWD (Komunidad ng Pamilya, Pasyente at Persons With Disabilities) party-list from sitting as a member until the plea is resolved.
Ultimately, petitioners want the substitution voided.
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What Duterte Youth is arguing
Duterte Youth (Duty to Energize the Republic Through the Enlightement of the Youth) is questioning the validity of Guanzon's substitution of the party-list's original nominees since the deadline for it set by Comelec Resolution No. 9366 was November 15, 2021.
Guanzon's substitution was filed in June, past election day on May 9, when substitution due to the death or incapacity of the original nominees would have been allowed until mid-day.
"In this case, it is clear that the submission of resignation and withdrawal by the original nominees and Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance of Nomination of P3PWDS’ new set of nominees on 14 June 2022 is in violation of the deadline set by the Commission’s own promulgated Resolution No. 9366, as amended by Resolution No. 1069," petitioner said.
The petitioners also alleged that the Comelec "committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction" by allowing the substitution, which they maintain is invalid.
"In hastily approving the illegal substitution of P3PWD, one day after the petition was filed by their former colleague, the COMELEC exercised its power in an arbitrary or despotic manner so patent and gross as to amount to an evasion of positive duty to enforce and administer election laws," they said, alleging also that the poll body failed to enforce the deadlines on substitution that they themselves set.
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Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta went the same route as Guanzon in securing a seat at the House of Representatives.
After withdrawing his senatorial bid on April 21, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) granted and approved his nomination to the Social Amelioration and Genuine Intervention on Poverty (SAGIP) party-list group following the resignation of the party's original second, third, fourth and fifth nominees.
SAGIP secured two seats in the House of the 19th Congress. Its original first nominee Caroline Tanchay retained her nomination, which means Tanchay and Marcoleta will occupy SAGIP’s seats. — Jonathan de Santos
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