Republic of the Philippines
COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
Intramuros, Manila
IN MATTER OF WITHDRAWAL
WITH SUBSTITUTION OF ALL
THE NOMINEES OF DUTERTE
YOUTH PARTY-LIST
Baca ~
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DISSENTING OPINION
I vote to deny due course to the Certificates of Nomination and
Acceptance (“CONA”) of Ronald Gian Carlo L. Cardema
(“Cardema”), Gian Carlo P. Galang (“Galang”), Catherine R. Santos
(“Santos”), Kerwin M. Pagaran (Pagaran”), Sharah Shan Makabali,
and Allan Kevin C. Payawal (collectively, “Substitute Nominees”).
1am of the view that the Substitute-Nominees failed to timely file
their CONAs and that they do not meet the age requirement
prescribed under Section 9 of Republic Act No. 7941 (“R.A. No.
7941”) for nominees of the Youth Sector.
The CONA of the Substitute Nominees of
Duterte Youth were not filed according to
Asa rule, pleadings, motions, notices, and all other documents
may be filed before the Law Department of the Commission, the
Clerk of the Commission, or the Electoral Contest Adjudication
Department only during the office hours of regular working days.
COMELEC Resolution No. 8665 provides:
In order to give ample time to the offices/departments of the
Commission directly involved the various pleadings including the
corresponding legal fees to collate/file numerous documents; and,
further, to discourage/avoid last minute rush filing of said
pleadings by parties, the Commission RESOLVED, as it hereby
RESOLVES, to fix the schedule of filing of petitions, motions,
answers, and all other pleadings and relevant documents in
connection with election related cases filed before the office of the
Clerk of the Commission, Law Department, and Electoral Contest
Adjudication Department, including payment of correspondingPage 2 of 8
Dissenting Opinion
legal fees at the cash division, ASD, from Monday to Friday, 8 am
to 5 pm, excluding holidays. Where a deadline falls on a Saturday,
a Sunday, or a legal holiday, official transactions shall be done on
the next working day.
However, the rule is not absolute. Section 4 of COMELEC
Resolution No. 9366 provides for a clear exception, thus:
SEC. 4, Withdrawal of nomination or acceptance of nomination.
Withdrawal of nominations or acceptance of nominations shall be
in writing and under oath, and filed with the Law Department of
the Commission in Manila before the close of polls.
XXX
The way Section 4 of COMELEC Resolution No. 9366 is worded
leaves no doubt as to the intent of the Commission to set the deadline
of withdrawal or acceptance of nominations before the close of polls
‘on Election Day. Thus, notwithstanding COMELEC Resolution No.
8665 and the fact that Election Days are legal holidays, the deadline
to withdraw or accept nominations, insofar as party-list nominees are
concerned, remains. Likewise, to avoid unduly shortening the time
within which an interested party may file his or her respective
acceptance or withdrawal, the Commission allows the filing of such
acceptance or withdrawal during Election Day.
The original nominees of Duterte Youth filed their Notice of
Withdrawal on Sunday, 12 May 2019. On even date, the new
nominees of the party filed their Notice of Substitution also at around
5:30 PM:
COMELEC Resolution No, 9836 neither allows nor prohibits
the nominees from filing their notices of acceptance or withdrawal on
a Sunday. In fact, such Resolution is completely silent on the matter.
Thus, the general rule laid down in COMELEC Resolution No. 8665
must be applied
As discussed above, COMELEC Resolution No. 8665 proscribes
filing of documents outside regular office hours of regular working
days. Clearly the filing of the notices of withdrawal and the CONAs
of the Substitute Nominees was attended by glaring procedural
anomalies.
The filing of the notices of withdrawal and the substitutes’
CONAs on a prohibited day renders the said filing irregular and
illegal. As such the Commission cannot recognize the existence of
and give legal effect to the said filing. It was as if no such noticesPage 3 of 8
Dissenting Opinion
were filed at all. To consider that the said notices were filed within
the hours and days prescribed by COMELEC Resolution No. 8665
would render the very resolution inutile. Indeed, if parties can
simply file documents beyond office hours and then have them
considered as having been filed on the following working day, the
very purpose why COMELEC Resolution No. 8665 was even
promulgated would be defeated
Nevertheless, even assuming that the CONAs of the Substitute-
Nominees were regularly filed, the same still must be denied due
course in view of the Substitute Nominees’ ineligibility
Duterte Youth was granted registration as a
sectoral party representing the Youth Sector.
In its Petition, Duterte Youth described the character, nature,
and status of its organization as a youth group which advocates and
represents the youth sector:
6. The DUTERTE YOUTH is the leading and most vocal youth
group in the Philippines... . When many of today’s youth
organizations in the country are active in rallying against the
government, . . . and even the only youth party-list now in the
Philippine Congress, the Kabataan Party-List, is known for its
mobilization for anti-government activities and in further orienting
the youth on how to support and join the armed rebellion, the
DUTERTE YOUTH is here to strongly advocate for the
orientation and mobilization of the millions of Filipino Youth to
become disciplined, nationalistic, and to become great visionary
leaders for their communities, for our generation, and for our A api
nation, The DUTERTE YOUTH . . . will be the
COMELEC on its voter education advocacies for thé youth) and
will be the direct partners of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in
uplifting the millions of Filipino Youth and Young Professionals,
which is now the so-called millennial generation of our nation.
7. The DUTERTE YOUTH is recognized ... as their direct youth
partner in advocating, against illegal drugs & criminality among
youth communities. Several Governors, Congressmen, and Mayors
have already partnered with the Duterte Youth in its strong nation-
building advocacy for the Filipino Youth Sie teed
reporters have recognized DUTERTE YOUTH as thé youth group YA 744)
that they can contact and feature for news the youth gree De fant
nation-building programs for the youth...”
Underscoring and emphasis supplied.