Solons to Comelec: Uphold Duterte Youth ruling so legit groups sit

Party-list ACT Teachers, led by nominees Antonio Tinio and France Castro (fifth and sixth from left), is proclaimed among the winning party-lists by the Commission on Elections on May 19, 2025. — Photo by Lyn Rillon

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from the ACT Teachers party-list have urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc to uphold the decision to cancel the registration of the Duterte Youth party-list so that legitimate groups can sit.

In a statement on Wednesday, both ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro and Representative-elect Antonio Tinio said that the Duterte Youth party-list was never formed to advance the interests of Filipino youth — as the group supposedly only red-tagged progressive groups and protected the Duterte family.

“We welcome this long-overdue decision by the Comelec Second Division. The Duterte Youth party-list was never formed to uphold the genuine interests of Filipino youth – it was established as a red-tagging organization designed to benefit the Duterte family and their political machinery,” Castro said in Filipino.

“The Duterte Youth is not a true representation of the youth.  It was created to strengthen the political machinery of the Dutertes and become a weapon against progressive youth organizations,” she added.

Earlier, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said that the Comelec’s Second Division decided to cancel the registration of the Duterte Youth party-list.

“The Comelec will release today the resolution on Duterte Youth by a vote of 2-1, cancelling the registration of the Duterte Youth party-list,” he told reporters in an interview.

READ: Comelec 2nd Division cancels Duterte Youth party-list’s registration 

Garcia noted that the decision stemmed from a 2019 case filed against the organization.

In 2019, youth leaders filed a petition seeking to nullify the group’s registration status, as the Comelec en banc had approved it without publishing the organization’s petition, and without holding a proper hearing on the party list’s application.

Tinio, meanwhile, said that if the Comelec en banc upholds the decision, deserving party-list groups like Gabriela Women’s Party can be proclaimed.

“We urge the Comelec en banc to uphold this decision so that truly deserving party-list groups like Gabriela Women’s Party can be proclaimed before June 30 and hit the ground running in serving their constituents,” he said.

“We have to ensure that our party-list system serves the true interests of sectors that it should represent,  and not political families that use the system for its selfish interests,” he added.

For the 20th Congress, 63 of the 317 seats in the House will be allotted to party-list groups. After being ranked second in the party-list race with over 2.3 million votes, the Duterte Youth party-list was expected to get three seats in the House.

READ: Akbayan, Duterte Youth, Tingog head final party-list race results 

However, if the cancellation of the party’s registration is upheld, the group would not get a seat, and its slots would instead be given to the other groups in the 2025 midterm elections.

READ: 53 party list winners proclaimed today 

Before the Duterte Youth party-list’s registration was cancelled, the final seat was given to Philreca party-list, which was ranked 54th with 261,045 votes.  Next to Philreca is Gabriela with 256,811 votes (55th); followed by Abono party-list (254,474 votes, 56th); and Ang Probinsyano party-list (250,886 votes, 57th). /das