A group of petitioners is urging the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to suspend the proclamation of the Duterte Youth party-list, raising questions over its eligibility to run in the 2025 elections.
In a statement issued on May 18, petitioners Reeya Beatrice Magtalas, Abigail Aleli Tan, Raainah Punzalan, and Aunell Ross Angcos said they formally filed for the suspension on May 15, citing unresolved issues in their petition case (SPA No. 19-009 DC), which has been pending for more than five years.
According to the group, Comelec’s own records show that Duterte Youth is not a registered party-list group and should not have been allowed to participate in the elections.
Despite this, the group reportedly garnered 2,327,549 votes—accounting for 99.12% of quick counts—in the May 12 national and local elections, placing it among those eligible for at least three seats in Congress.
However, their legal counsel, Emil Marañon III, warned that votes cast for a non-candidate are considered stray under Section 211 (19) of the Omnibus Election Code.
“If considered stray, then these 2,327,549 votes will be excluded in the computation of party-list seat allocations,” he emphasized.
This paves the way for other legitimate party-list organizations to get into the “winning circle.”
“Considering the pending issues above, it is not only prudent, but it is a legal necessity to suspend the proclamation of Duterte Youtn until (the) petitioners’ case is resolved,” Marañon added.
The petitioners argue that Duterte Youth’s eligibility remains a “prejudicial question” that must be settled first to prevent potential disruption in the final party-list seat allocations.
The Comelec is set to proclaim the winning party-list organizations this Monday, May 19.