MANILA, Philippines — Members of election watchdog Kontra Daya will troop to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) today to oppose a move of former National Youth Commission (NYC) chair Ronald Cardema to become the nominee of Duterte Youth party-list.
The group is urging the people to join the protest rally at 10 a.m. in front of the Comelec office in Intramuros.
“The mass action is open to all those who believe that there were cheating and irregularities in the recent midterm polls as well as those who demand transparency and accountability from the Comelec in terms of information it provides on the elections,” Kontra Daya said in a statement.
It said Filipinos should unite and oppose all forms of election fraud and demand accountability from the Comelec.
The protest rally will coincide with the commissioners’ scheduled session to discuss and resolve Cardema’s petition to substitute as Duterte Youth nominee.
The poll watchdog said the party-list system has been “bastardized and prostituted” by the rich and powerful.
“The Comelec cannot just cite existing laws that allegedly tie its hands,” it said, adding the Duterte Youth party-list is tinkering with the system by installing an unqualified nominee.
According to Kontra Daya, Cardema is overaged and thus not qualified to be a representative of the youth sector.
The 33-year-old Cardema filed a petition for substitution after all the nominees of the party-list group withdrew their nomination.
Duterte Youth won a seat in Congress in the elections and Cardema represented the party-list during the proclamation last week, although the Comelec has yet to decide on his appeal.
Kontra Daya said allowing Cardema to sit as Duterte Youth nominee would erode whatever integrity is left in the party-list system.
The group wants the Comelec to disclose all pending substitutions filed by other party-list groups.