Guanzon slams Cardema proclamation
Election Commissioner Rowena Guanzon has opposed her colleagues’ decision to proclaim Ducielle Cardema as representative of the Duterte Youth party list, saying the move was a “betrayal of the Constitution.”
In her eight-page dissenting opinion, Guanzon said the certificate of proclamation should only be issued “when there is no more legal impediment for its issuance, or when there is no longer any ground to suspend the proclamation of the party and/or its nominee.”
There are currently two cases against Cardema and Duterte Youth. One seeks the cancellation of the party list’s registration for failure to comply with constitutional and statutory publication requirements, while the other wants Cardema disqualified for her alleged violation and failure to comply with election laws, rules and regulations.
“The issues [in these cases] pose a prejudicial question to the proclamation of Duterte Youth and Ducielle Cardema as the nominee of Duterte Youth. Thus, in the interest of orderly administration of justice, the Commission en banc must await the final resolution of the said petitions before acting on the request to issue the certificate of proclamation,” Guanzon said.
“The cancellation of Duterte Youth’s registration and Ducielle Cardema’s disqualification as nominee are constitutional and threshold matters that must be settled first before a certificate of proclamation is issued,” she added.
