THE RECENT decision by the Commission on Elections to declare the Gabriela Party-list is a “naked political maneuver, thinly veiled in bureaucratic jargon,” the Duterte Youth Party-list said Sunday.
The group said the move of the Comelec is an insult to the democracy of the Filipinos who voted for Duterte Youth.
Comelec George Erwin Garcia announced in a radio interview that it will proclaim former Congresswoman Sarah Elago as the number one nominee of the Gabriela partylist.
Garcia said the Comelec en banc will decide on the matter on Wednesday and is expected to make the announcement on the same day.
Duterte Youth slammed Comelec, saying that it effectively nullified the votes of two million Filipinos who chose them in the last mid-term elections.
“Due process demands consistency. As it stands, there is a pending case before the Supreme Court, a higher and impartial tribunal, which is already hearing arguments challenging Comelec’s own decision,” the group said.
It stressed that to proclaim Gabriela before that case is resolved is trampling on the rule of law and on constitutional guarantees.
Duterte Youth pinned Garcia as making decisions that favor a certain party, noting that Garcia was a former lawyer of the Marcoses.
“It is difficult to see this as anything but part of a broader pattern: favoritism toward left-leaning groups like Gabriela, while opposition voices—especially those with massive popular support—are targeted with legalistic technicalities,” it said.
The group is planning to file a protest and is calling on Garcia to immediately rescind the decision.
“Why would you stop the proclamation of Duterte Youth Party-List due to a made-up simple issue, then allow Gabriela Party-List to be proclaimed now, while there is a more serious pending Terrorism case,” it stressed.
The group already filed a petition before the Supreme Court on Sept. 1 to declare Comelec’s move to cancel its registration as unconstitutional. It insisted that the Comelec En Banc, voting 5-1, committed a grave abuse of discretion in rejecting its motion for reconsideration.
