The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed the petition which sought the nullification of the proclamation of Ducielle Marie S. Cardema as representative of the Duterte Youth Party-List in the House of Representatives.
In a resolution promulgated on November 3, 2020 but made public only on Tuesday, January 26, the SC ruled that the petition failed “to sufficiently show that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) committed grave abuse of discretion in rendering the challenged minute resolutions which, on the contrary, appear to be in accord with the facts and applicable law and jurisprudence.”
Listed as petitioners were Aunell Ross Angcos, Raainah Punzalan, Reeya Beatrice Magtalas, Raoul Danniel A. Manuel, and Abigail Alili Tan.
Named respondents were the officers of the Duterte Youth (Duty to Energize the Republic Through the Enlightenment of the Youth) Sectoral Party-List Organization and the Comelec.
In the petition, the SC was told that Cardema was proclaimed by the Comelec despite the pendency of several cases on the alleged non-registration of her party-list to join in the 2019 election.
Cardema’s husband, Ronald Cardema who was former chairperson of the National Youth Commission, had been disqualified as Duterte Youth Party-List nominee for being overaged.
The petitioners asked the SC to issue a status quo ante order or a writ of preliminary injunction “to restore the status of Private Respondent Duterte Youth and its purported First Nominee Ducielle Marie S. Cardema prior to the issuance of the assailed Minute Resolution No. 20-0382 or to undo her assailed illegal proclamation pending the resolution of this case.”
The Comelec’s Minute Resolution No. 20-0383 dealt on the Duterte Youth’s certificate of proclamation.