THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will resolve pending disqualification cases against the Duterte Youth and Bagong Henerasyon party-list groups before June 30th, the start of the new term for elected officials, Chairman George Garcia announced.
The Comelec had previously deferred the proclamation of both groups due to these cases, which Garcia described as containing “serious allegations.”
“We will resolve these cases before June 30,” Garcia stated. “That is the Comelec’s obligation so that there would be no doubts about a winner’s assumption of office on June 30.”
Garcia emphasized that resolving these issues before proclamation is preferable to potentially canceling a group’s accreditation after the fact.
When asked about the delay in resolving a 2019 disqualification case against Duterte Youth, Garcia declined to criticize previous Comelec officials, stating that the current focus is on addressing these outstanding issues.
A second disqualification case against Duterte Youth was filed earlier this month. Garcia stressed that the Comelec’s responsibility extends to resolving disqualification cases even for winning groups, citing a Supreme Court ruling that upholds the rule of law over the will of the people.
The Comelec’s commitment to resolving these cases before June 30th aims to ensure a transparent and legally sound outcome for the party-list elections.
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