Ambition is good; sheer determination, even better.
We wonder however if a party-list seat at the House of Representatives were that desirable that somebody would employ desperate machinations just to get it. We suspect it is not for the psychic reward of serving the people.
The former chairman of the National Youth Commission, Ronald Cardema, first earned notoriety for suggesting that government scholars who are critical of the Duterte administration must be stripped of their scholarships.
And then, despite a policy that all executive officials running for the May 2019 elections should step down at the start of the campaign period to avoid any undue advantage from their posts, Cardema stayed on at the commission, even if it was also public knowledge that he was one of the main forces behind Duterte Youth. He skirted this rule by not applying to represent the group at the outset.
During the May polls, Duterte Youth earned one seat at the House.
On June 4, Cardema filed a petition for substitution. The Comelec en banc gave his application due course, amid much criticism because Cardema was already 34. The law says youth representatives in Congress must be between 25 and 30 years old.
Cardema pressed his luck by saying his group represented not only the youth but young professionals as well.
On July 1, while his substitution petition was still pending, Cardema took his oath as Duterte Youth representative. On social media, he referred to himself as congressman. He was also seen in congressional gatherings, during the proclamation of winning party-list organizations and during meetings in the runup to the July 22 House speaker.
But on Monday, August 5, the first division of the Comelec voted 2-0 to cancel Cardema’s nomination to represent Duterte Youth in Congress. With the ruling, Cardema will not be issued a certificate of proclamation. He will not be able to sit in Congress, representing his group.
Of course, Cardema has one more recourse—to appeal his decision to the Comelec en banc. Someone of Cardema’s cunning and obstinacy can believe that while he has lost this battle, he has not yet lost the war. We do not doubt his ability to employ more tricks so that he could get his coveted office.
When the en banc first approved Cardema’s petition for substitution, Guanzon said it was an “unabashed mockery and an assault to democratic processes.” It is up to the public to watch the Comelec’s next move. If it continues to decide in Cardema’s favor, then democracy will indeed be mocked and assaulted, and Cardema would have set a resounding example to the youth—a terrible one.