Cardema out; Joseph Ortega named new chair of National Youth Commission
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Joseph Ortega as the new chairperson of the National Youth Commission (NYC), replacing known Duterte supporter Ronald Cardema.
Cardema founded the Duterte Youth party-list in support of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte appointed Cardema as National Youth Commission Chair in 2018 and reappointed him in 2022. Cardema was 39 years old when he was replaced as chair.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) announced Ortega’s appointment in a Facebook post on Thursday night, August 29. The agency also announced Karl Legazpi as the second commissioner-at-large.
“Mr. Ortega’s appointment is part of the administration’s commitment to empowering the Filipino youth and ensuring that their voices are represented at the highest levels of government,” the PCO said on its website.
Since 2019, Ortega has served as the regional director of the Department of Tourism Region 1. He is also a graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.
Ortega also earned a Master of Business Administration from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business in 2023, according to the PCO.
Meanwhile, Legazpi also served as a director at the House of Representatives.
According to his Facebook profile, Legazpi studied at the University of the Philippines College of Law and began working at the House of Representatives in 2019.
During his time as NYC chair, Cardema faced many criticisms for his history of red-tagging and alleged mismanagement of the commission’s funds.
On August 15, Cardema participated in the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s budget hearing in the House of Representatives, where Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel pointed out NYC's low budget utilization rate for training Sangguniang Kabataan officials.
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