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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Cardema files graft, corruption raps vs Comelec officials

Cardema files graft, corruption raps vs Comelec officials

Published May 31, 2025 01:05 pm

At A Glance

  • Duterte Youth Party-list Chairman Ronald Cardema continues to go after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as he filed this time graft and corruption charges against the poll body's officials before the Office of the Ombudsman
Duterte Youth Party-list Chairman Ronald Cardema continued to go after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as he filed, this time, graft and corruption charges against the poll body's officials before the Office of the Ombudsman. 
Cardema's move came shortly after he also asked certain members of the Commission on Appointments (CA) to defer the appointment of two Comelec commissioners after they, along with other commissioners who sat as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) during the 2025 elections, suspended the party-list's proclamation.
The respondents in Cardema's latest complaint were Teopisto Elnas Jr., Rafael Olaño, Helen Aguila-Flores, Celia Romero and all other "supporting members" who led the NBOC's supervisory body.
Cardema filed on Friday, May 29, a complaint against them because as the supervisory body, they supposedly "recommended" the suspension of the proclamation of the Duterte Youth, allegedly as disclosed by Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia.
Sought for comment on Cardema's complaint, Garcia said it was "part of the job in public service. Belief in our legal processes makes decision-making a lot easier".
"In behalf of the 2.3 million Filipinos who voted for the Duterte Youth Party-List...we repeatedly questioned COMELEC Chairman George Garcia on why COMELEC suspended our proclamation, his only answer is because it was 'recommended' by the 2025 NBOC Supervisory Committee," Cardema said.
On Friday, Cardema also went to CA to seek the deferment of the appointment of Comelec commissioners Noli Pipo and Maria Norina Tangaro-Casingal after suspending, along with other commissioners, the party-list's confirmation "with no legal basis".

The NBOC was "only following the recommendation of the Supervisory Committee", according to Cardema.
"Kakaturo ni George Garcia sa Supervisory Committee araw-araw, tiningnan namin kahapon kung ano ba talaga ang powers nitong Supervisory Committee, wala naman pala sila ganong powers (Garcia repeatedly said they were only following the supervisory committee, so we looked at it, and found that it really has no such power)," he said.
"At kahit bigyan pa nila ng ganung powers, makikita agad ng Ombudsman na hindi naman pinasuspend nito lahat ng ibang may pending case, talagang tinarget lang todo ang Duterte Youth Party-List kaya ito ay (And even if it would be given such power, the Ombudsman would see that the committee was not recommending all candidates with pending cases. The NBOC really targeted the Duterte Youth Party-list so it is) in violation of Sec. 3 Paragraph e of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft & Corrupt Practices Act," he added.
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