Duterte Youth

The Duterte Youth, officially the Duty to Energize the Republic through the Enlightenment of the Youth Sectoral Party-list Organization,[1] is a right-wing[2] youth organization which supports the administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. They also campaigned to win a seat in the House of Representatives through party-list representation in the 2019 elections where they secured a single seat.

Duterte Youth
LeaderRonald Cardema
Founded2016
IdeologyRight-wing
Seats in the House of Representatives
0 / 304
  • Politics of Philippines
  • Political parties
  • Elections

It is led by Ronald Cardema who is the group's chairman.[3] Cardema is also the chairman of the Kabataan for Bongbong Movement, a youth organization supporting Ferdinand Marcos Jr..[4]

The group has also been compared to the Hitler Youth of the Nazi Party.[5]

History

It was formed in 2016 and has supported the presidential campaign of Duterte leading to the 2016 Philippine elections. The group first held their rally on November 25 which coincided with protest action against the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery to express their support to Duterte. A self-reported figure of 20 to 50 people attended the rally.[3]

In December 2016, Cardema claimed that the Duterte Youth has already 600 members across the Philippines.[3]

The Duterte Youth reportedly said in February 2017 that they plan to recruit 1 million members by recruiting 1,000 people in each municipality and 5,000 each in each city ages 15 to 30.[6]

House of Representatives elections

The Duterte Youth made a successful bid to win at least a seat in the 2019 Philippine House of Representatives elections through party-list representation. Their five official nominees were as follows from 1st to 5th: (Ducielle Marie Suarez, Joseph de Guzman, Benilda de Guzman, Arnaldo Villafranca, and Elizabeth Anne Cardema). However, all five nominees withdrew and Duterte Youth leader Ronald Cardema who was also National Youth Commission chairman filed a substitution in a bid to fill in the seat himself.[7] In relation to Cardema's bid, factors whether he filed substitution in time before polls closed on May 13 and whether he is qualified to represent the Duterte Youth in the House of Representatives were put into dispute.[8]

Six of the seven members of the Comelec decided to give "due course" or deliberate further on Cardema's bid and four others[9] accepted the withdrawal of Duterte Youth's five initial nominees. Only Election Commissioner Rowena Guanzon expressed dissent who argued that the three original nominees of ages 31 to 36, and also Cardema who is 34 years old, are not eligible to represent the party-list as a representative of the youth sector as per Section 9 of the Republic Act No. 7941 given that nominees should be aged 25 to 30 on election day. The commissioner also views the filing of the withdrawal of the original nominees at 5:30pm on May 12, 2019, a Sunday, as invalid since its contrary to Resolution No. 8665 which states that filing should be done on a regular working day during office hours.[10] Cardema defended his eligibility insisting that the party while it represents the youth, also represents professionals in general as well.[9]

Cardema's bid was criticized by Senator Panfilo Lacson who said that the Duterte Youth partylist and its leader "are one of the many reasons" that the party-list representation system has become a "joke".[11]

Representatives to Congress
Period 1st Representative 2nd Representative 3rd Representative
18th Congress
2019–2022		 To be announced

Disqualification of Ronald Cardema

On August 5, 2019, the first division of the Commission on Elections (Philippines) (COMELEC) canceled his nomination as the party-list representative of Duterte Youth by a vote of 2–0. The decision was concurred by commissioners Rowena Guanzon and Marlon Casquejo, while Commissioner Al Parreño was away on official businesses. The cancellation stemmed from Cardema's claim that he was eligible for nomination on his Certificate of Acceptance and Nomination, which the COMELEC deemed "material misrepresentation" because of the 25- to 30-year-old age requirement as set out by the Party List Law. A certificate of the proclamation will not be issued to Cardema and he shall not be able to seat in the House of Representatives of the Philippines.[12][13]

The COMELEC also disagreed with Cardema's claim that the organization represented professionals, stating, "“Records would show that the Respondent started to highlight the professionals only after the filing of a petition against him questioning his eligibility to represent the youth sector. Pursuing such afterthought would not be enough to comply with the express mandate of Party-list law which requires changes in affiliation should be done at least six months before the election to be eligible for nomination.”[12]

On February 12, 2020, the COMELEC in a ruling ruled with finality the disqualification of Ronald Cardema's nomination of the party-list group, Duterte Youth. The ruling that junks the motion for reconsideration (MR) filed by Cardema, noted that Cardema's own filling of his withdrawal as the first nominee being ineligible to sit as a youth sector representative tantamounts to "acceptance of the ruling".[14]

Stance

Government policies

According to Cardema in December 2016, his group supports all of Duterte's policies including the death penalty and federalism, except the implementation of the Philippine war on drugs which resulted to deaths. He said that the group only supports detainment of suspected drug lords and users. Cardema suggests rehabilitating addicts pointing to the fact that a drug rehabilitation facility had just opened at that time.[3]

In August 2016, the group has expressed support for the revival of mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps program for college students as well as support for Citizenship Advancement Training for high school students and scouting for elementary students. The Duterte Youth cited South Korea and Singapore for their similar programs for the youth which they believe has instilled nationalism, discipline and cooperation among their youth.[4]

When the group reportedly announced their recruitment plans, the youth organization said that they will help secure the presidency of Duterte against plots to oust him, as well as help the police and military detain criminals.[6]

The group's name

Cardema has acknowledged that his group has been compared to the Hitler Youth of the Nazi Party but emphasized that German youth organization existed in "different generation, a different continent, in a different context". He responded to those drawing comparisons that the Hitler Youth has no patent over its name, that it is not "forbidden" for a group to attach the word "Youth" to a name of a non-German President, and remarked that "all countries have youth".[5]

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References
  1. "Duterte Youth dared: Don't be an instrument for red-tagging". ABS-CBN News. April 10, 2019. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  2. Maglana, Mags Z. (2017-03-05). "Maglana: Understanding the right-wing authoritarian follower". SunStar. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  3. Cabato, Regine (5 December 2016). "Duterte Youth: Don't kill drug pushers". CNN Philippines. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  4. "AFP backs return of ROTC, says strong nations have it". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  5. Bueno, Anna (December 1, 2016). "Holding the line at the Duterte Youth rally". CNN Philippines.
  6. "Duterte Youth' to recruit 1 million to defend Duterte from ouster". ABS-CBN News. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  7. "Duterte Youth nominees may face criminal raps, election lawyer says". The Philippine Star. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  8. "Poll exec: Cardema substitution as Duterte Youth rep 'not yet decided'". ABS-CBN News. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  9. "Comelec: Duterte Youth's 30-somethings should justify 'youth' in name". The Philippine Star.
  10. Santos, Tina G. "Guanzon: Duterte Youth ruling a mockery". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  11. "Lacson: Cardema, Duterte Youth make party-list system a 'joke'". The Philippine Star.
  12. "Comelec junks Cardema nomination as Duterte Youth party-list rep". GMA News. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  13. "Comelec division cancels Duterte Youth's nomination of Cardema". Rappler. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  14. "Comelec division cancels Duterte Youth's nomination of Cardema". Rappler. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
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