By National Union of Students of the Philippines
HUNDREDS of youth and student leaders nationwide signed a unity statement to manifest their opposition against the schemes of state-backed Duterte Youth party-list.
The plot thickens as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) continues to obfuscate the Filipino people regarding its verdict on the nominees of Duterte Youth, aka “Duty to Energize the Republic through the Enlightenment of the Youth Sectoral Party-list Organization.”
On May 17, 2019, Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said that the shameless maneuver by Duterte Youth chairman and National Youth Commission chairman Ronald Cardema to substitute his wife as the first nominee of the said party-list is not allowed because the deadline for substitution has already passed. However, the following day, the Comelec, through Director Frances Arabe, retracted their statement and now they are claiming that Cardema actually made it to the deadline. Worse, it has been revealed that all five original nominees of the party-list withdrew their nominations to make way for Ronald Cardema.
What’s more surprising is that the nominees of Duterte Youth are beyond the clear-cut bracket of 25-30 years old for nominees of party-lists that aim to represent the Filipino youth. Original second nominee Joseph de Guzman is 39 years old, original third nominee Benilda de Guzman is 44 years old and Ronald Cardema himself is 33 years old. To circumvent this age restriction, Duterte Youth actually registered as a regional party-list based in Region 4A rather than a youth sectoral party-list!
This is a conscious attempt to mislead the people, given that the mostly undesirable platforms of Duterte Youth concern young people: reinstating mandatory ROTC, mobilizing the youth for the fake war on drugs, among others.
With its consistent vilification of progressive organizations that seek to forward the genuine interest of the Filipino people, Duterte Youth unmasks itself as a tool of the ruling class rather than the marginalized. Its continued existence is a bastardization of the electoral and party-list system. The Filipino people deserve more than another bogus, power-hungry party-list that uses government institutions and people’s funds to “win” in the fraudulent election. We no longer need an addition to the already enormous number of warmongers, land grabbers, tyrants, and Duterte lapdogs in government. Those are already in over-supply.
With so many reported cases of electoral fraud and anomalies in the 2019 midterm elections, we warn Comelec: should it approve the application of Ronald Cardema to substitute as nominee of Duterte Youth, it shall further erode its reputation and shed off any semblance of independence for ruling in favor of this administration-backed party-list.