Duterte doesn’t need to justify Cardema’s reappointment to NYC -Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte is not obliged to explain why he reappointed Ronald Cardema to the National Youth Commission (NYC), Malacañang said Friday.

In a televised briefing, Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said nobody could question the “sole and exclusive” prerogative of the President to choose appointees.

“Nasa pleasure na po ‘yan ng Presidente. Hindi po kinakailangan i-justify ng Presidente ang kanyang mga appointment,” he said.

Youth Act Now Against Tyranny, an alliance of student and youth organizations, has slammed Cardema’s reappointment, calling him a “fake youth leader.”

“The recycling of Ronald Cardema comes at a time when youth groups have been more critical of NYC under the Duterte administration. Duterte's NYC has been a tool of government-led red-tagging while it has failed to promote youth interests and welfare,” the coalition said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cardema returned to NYC as a commissioner after failing to get a seat in the House of Representatives through the Duterte Youth party-list last year.

The Commission on Elections had ruled the former NYC chairperson ineligible to represent the party-list group for being over the age limit.

Under the party-list law, a party-list representative of a youth sector should be aged around 25 to 30 years old on election day. Cardema was already 34 years old during the elections held on May 13 last year.—AOL, GMA News