SAYING it wants to wait for their decision to become final, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Thursday, September 11, 2025, said it has decided to withhold efforts to determine who should replace the Duterte Youth party-list as a winning group in the May 12 polls.
In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they will adhere to the position of the Law Department and the Supervisory Committee of the National Board of Canvassers to delay their ongoing study on who should be proclaimed to replace Duterte Youth.
"Ang finality ng decision sa Duterte Youth ay September 30 pa. Asahan niyo po, ang Certificate of Finality ay mangyayari pa after September 30," said Garcia.
(The Duterte Youth decision will only become final on September 30. Rest assured, the Certificate of Finality will be issued after September 30.)
"Wala pa kami napapagusapan. Na-withhold muna ng Law Department at Supervisory Group yung recommendation kung sino ang tatlong ipapalit sa nominees ng Duterte Youth kung sakaling maging final ang decision sa Comelec," he added.
(We haven’t discussed anything yet. The Law Department and the Supervisory Group have withheld their recommendation on who the three replacements for the Duterte Youth nominees should be, in case the Comelec decision becomes final.)
The Comelec en banc affirmed the cancellation of the registration of the Duterte Youth party-list, which was entitled to three seats in the House of Representatives had they been proclaimed.
Duterte Youth has since asked the Supreme Court to restrain the Comelec from implementing its decision to disqualify the group.
64th PL representative
The Comelec also said it is set to proclaim the 64th party-list representative, likely by next week.
Garcia said they have been advised to proclaim the 64th winning party-list nominee as soon as possible.
"May posibilidad na ma-proclaim na namin ang pang-64th party-list representative," he said.
(There is a possibility that we will be able to proclaim the 64th party-list representative.)
"Ang Law Department at Supervisory Group ng NBOC ay nagsubmit na ng mga recommendations. Nagrerekomenda sila na kaagad na iproclaim ang 64th party-list nominee," added Garcia.
(The Law Department and the Supervisory Group of the NBOC have already submitted their recommendations. They are recommending the immediate proclamation of the 64th party-list nominee.)
The Comelec earlier announced that it will be proclaiming one additional winning party-list representative for the May 2025 polls. The poll body said this is because the 63 seats allocated during the May 2025 elections fall short of the required 20 percent party-list composition of the House of Representatives. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
