Malacañang on Sunday considered National Youth Commission chairman Ronald Cardema resigned following his petition to substitute for his wife as the first nominee of the Duterte Youth party-list group.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Commission on Elections’ confirmation that Cardema was considered resigned from his post following his petition
He made his statement even as the Akbayan Youth slammed the Comelec for flip-flopping on the issue Cardema’s petition.
“Congressman Cardema should never happen. Comelec should dismiss Cardema’s petition right away,” Akbayan Youth spokesman Cassie Deluria said.
“Comelec seems to be on a path of self-sabotage. Why would it allow itself to make a mockery of the elections by saying, all of a sudden, Cardema’s petition was received on time? This is desperation on Duterte Youth’s side, Comelec should not be complicit.”
While the Comelec has been looking into the “procedural and substantive legalities” to decide on Cardema’s plea, Panelo considered the 33-year-old NYC head resigned from his post.
“Regardless of the outcome, we deem that Mr. Cardema has already abandoned his present position because his act of filing the petition absolutely reflects his intention to relinquish his office and exposes his desire to serve the government in a different capacity,” Panelo said.
He then ordered Cardema to vacate his post and “turn over all official papers, documents and properties in his possession to the Office of the President.”
President Rodrigo Duterte “shall soon appoint a person who can advance the genuine interests and welfare of our country’s youth as the new chairperson of the NYC.”
Panelo made his remarks following Cardema’s plan to replace his wife, Ducielle, as the first nominee of the Duterte Youth party-list.
Under the Party-list System Act, a nominee for the youth sector must not be above the age of 30 on the day of the election. Cardema is 33.
As of this writing, the Duterte Youth has received 346,314 votes or 1.25 percent based on 98.25 percent of the Comelec’s partial and unofficial election returns.
For a party-list to get at least one slot in the House of Representatives during the first round of seat allocation, the party-list will need to secure 2 percent of the total number of votes counted in the party-list race.
A party-list group can even get up to as many as three seats. Currently, the Duterte Youth rests at the 21st spot out of 134 contenders.
In August last year, the President appointed Cardema as the replacement of resigned NYC chairman Ice Seguerra.