By Kej Andres, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines chairman
We are one with the ranks of youth for the disqualification of the Duterte Youth Party-list as a “fake party-list.” The said party-list won three seats during the past midterms election. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) recently announced to suspend their proclamation.
Duterte Youth is not a genuine representative of the youth or any marginalized sector; it is a representative of a bastardized partylist system that the likes of Duterte have taken advantage of.
Progressive groups have long criticized the existence of Duterte Youth and its continuous seat in Congress despite its non-registration and dubious advocacies.
Election lawyers once called out Comelec in 2020 that its proclamation of Duterte Youth then was “easily the most unconstitutional act” in its history.
The invalidity of Duterte Youth not only rests with their non-registration. They have only participated and advocated on actions that actually harm the youth like red-tagging, disinformation, mandatory drug testing and mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
Never have they stood in solidarity with the youth who continue to clamor for free education and human rights.
We urge Comelec to stop accommodating “fake party-lists” that are actually fronts of political dynasties.
They must be at the forefront of making party-lists true representatives of marginalized and oppressed sectors.