Ronald Cardema withdraws nomination

MANILA, Philippines — Former youth commissioner Ronald Cardema has finally given up his nomination as Duterte Youth party-list representative before the Commission on Elections (Comelec), blaming commissioner Rowena Guanzon for his decision.

In a Notice of Withdrawal submitted to the poll body’s legal department last Sept. 13, Cardema said he was pulling out his nomination as first nominee of the party-list group.

But Cardema, 34, still insisted he was not over-aged and was qualified to become Duterte Youth’s nominee as the group is “advocating for the youth and professional sectors.”

He said the supposed “public harassment” he got from Guanzon was his reason for withdrawing.

“Even with our strong faith in the Comelec en banc that it will side with our motion for reconsideration and will protect us now from the harassment of their corrupt colleague, with all humility, I withdraw from my nomination to sacrifice myself,” he maintained.

He also reiterated that Guanzon had “requested and forced favor” in exchange for the group’s registration with the poll body.

“Said commissioner attacked us... used her office as commissioner-judge to show clear bias and to harass us daily in the media, to slander and destroy our party’s reputation in the public, to call our more than 350,000 voters as stupid and to force Comelec officers and employees to withhold my already existing Certificate of Proclamation,” he noted.

Guanzon, however, took a swipe at Cardema for making such claims under oath.

“Read Cardema’s notice of withdrawal under oath. Ako pa rin daw ang dahilan. STUPID,” Guanzon said on Twitter.

“Cardema stated under oath that I extorted money and favors from him. This is LIBELOUS,” she added.

Cardema also asked the Comelec to accept his “personal sacrifice” and to immediately release the Certificate of Proclamation of Duterte Youth which won one seat at the House of Representatives in the May 2019 midterm polls.

When asked, Guanzon had refused to comment on Cardema’s tirade. “Let him malign me some more,” she said.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said that the poll body will be studying Cardema’s submission of notice.

Jimenez added that in due time, the Comelec will “formally inform the public of its actions, if any, moving forward.”

A day before the May 13 polls, Cardema had filed to substitute his wife Ducielle Marie Suarez as the group’s first nominee.

Las Aug. 5, the Comelec First Division had issued a resolution junking Cardema’s application as he was found to be over-age because a nominee of a party-list group representing the youth should be 25 to 30 years old.