Supreme Court denies Duterte Youth bid to stop Comelec ruling

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of the Duterte Youth party-list seeking to block the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from enforcing its decision to revoke the group’s registration.

In a resolution dated September 30, the high court rejected Duterte Youth’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO), a writ of preliminary injunction, and a status quo ante order.

The court also did not give due course to the petition, effectively dismissing the group’s attempt to halt the Comelec ruling. Its plea for a special raffle was likewise denied.

However, the tribunal required the Comelec and private respondents Reeya Beatrice Magtalas, Abigail Aleli Tan, Raainah Punzalan, and Aunell Ross Angcos to file their comments within 10 days of receiving notice.

The Comelec’s Second Division first canceled Duterte Youth’s registration in a June 18, 2025 resolution, citing multiple violations of election law. The Comelec en banc later affirmed the decision on August 29, dismissing the group’s motion for reconsideration.

The Comelec ruled that the party-list’s registration was void from the beginning because it failed to publish its petition and hearing notice, a jurisdictional requirement under election rules.

On the same day the Supreme Court released its ruling, the Comelec en banc issued a separate resolution affirming the cancellation of Duterte Youth’s registration.

Grounds vs Duterte Youth. The Comelec cited several grounds for the disqualification, including:

• The submission of “untruthful statements” about the eligibility of nominees.
• The mass withdrawal and substitution of nominees in 2019 that enabled former chair Ronald Cardema to attempt to assume a congressional seat despite being over the age limit for youth representation.

The poll body described these maneuvers as a “mockery” of the party-list system.

It also said the group failed to demonstrate a genuine intent to represent the youth sector, pointing to Duterte Youth’s public calls for violence against activists and groups it branded as subversive — rhetoric the Comelec said goes beyond political discourse.

Additionally, the Comelec found the group had violated election laws through support it received from the National Youth Commission, which Cardema previously chaired.

Vacated seats, new proclamations. Following the cancelation, three House seats originally allocated to Duterte Youth were reassigned to other groups.

The Comelec proclaimed Abono, Ang Probinsyano, and Murang Kuryente party-lists as replacements.

In a separate development, the Gabriela Women’s Party — which placed 54th in the 2025 elections — gained an additional seat after the Comelec increased the number of party-list seats from 63 to 64 under a September 3 resolution.

The cancellation stemmed from a 2019 disqualification petition filed by four private citizens, whose arguments were upheld in Comelec’s 2025 ruling.

Founded in 2016 as Duty To Energize the Republic Through the Enlightenment of the Youth, Duterte Youth has been a staunch ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration and was long accused by critics of promoting a militarized brand of youth politics.