MANILA — Unlike in the last two hearings of the petitions filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) questioning his substitution as a nominee of the Duterte Youth party-list, Ronald Cardema was a no-show at Tuesday’s proceedings.
Lawyer Rani Angeli Supnet, the nominee’s counsel, said Cardema was unable to be at the hearing as he is attending to some personal matters.
“He could not attend the trial due to emergency personal reasons,” she said.
On the other hand, the petitioners, represented by lawyer Emil Maranon, alleged that Cardema used his position as former National Youth Commission (NYC) head to promote the party-list organization.
“He used his official position as NYC chair to campaign for Duterte Youth as he did not resign yet since he was not a nominee at that time,” he said during the hearing by the poll body’s First Division.
Maranon noted that it is in contrast to the prevailing rule that all officials holding appointive positions in government are deemed resigned once they file their Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) or Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance (CONAs) for party-list nominees.
Cardema submitted his application for substitution a day before the May 13 mid-term elections.
Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, member of the three-man Division announced that the two cases filed against Cardema have been consolidated.
The petitions have been filed before the poll body against the substitution of party-list’s first nominee, the first one was filed by petitioners Raoul Danniel Manuel of the National Union of Students of the Philippines, Paula Sabrine Janer of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, and Raainah Punzalan of the Youth Act Now Against Tyranny.
The second petition was filed by petitioners Aunell Ross Angcos, Cyra Aurelio, and Hannah Navarroza.