Photo credit: Ronald Gian Carlo Cardema

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has upheld its earlier ruling to cancel the registration of the Duterte Youth Partylist, effectively removing the group from the country’s party-list system.

In its latest decision, the poll body denied the party-list’s motion for reconsideration, saying it found “no cogent reason” to overturn the earlier ruling of the Second Division. The Comelec emphasized that the grounds raised by Duterte Youth lacked merit and failed to meet the requirements under the rules for reconsideration.

The en banc pointed out that the party-list was found to have committed multiple violations, including making untruthful statements in its petition, misrepresenting the eligibility of its nominees, and showing no genuine intent to represent the sector it claimed to serve.

It also cited findings that the group had advocated unlawful means to achieve its goals, and that it functioned as an adjunct of or had ties with the National Youth Commission.

One of the major issues raised in past proceedings was the mass withdrawal and substitution of nominees in May 2019, a move the Comelec said undermined the intent of the party-list system and made a mockery of the electoral process.

With the en banc’s ruling, the cancellation of the Duterte Youth’s registration is now final, subject only to possible remedies before higher courts.