Comelec: Duterte Youth nominee shouldn’t have used Cardema name

Drixie Cardema, the first nominee of Duterte Youth party-list for the 2025 polls, should not have used the surname of her brother-in-law Ronald Cardema in her Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Monday.

Comelec chairperson George Garcia made the response when asked if Drixie's use of her brother-in-law's surname instead of her own has legal basis—and if not, whether this would further affect the status of the party-list group.

Last week, Comelec junked Duterte Youth party-list’s registration due to its failure to comply with the mandatory requirements of publication and hearing in relation to its candidacy in 2019.

”Hindi niya dapat ginamit ‘yun kasi sapagkat hindi naman po ‘yun ang family name niya. Iyon pong alegasyon, kontensyon [niya] na pwedeng gumamit ng stage name, hindi naman po iyon stage name rin. Therefore, initially, ang determination ng [Comelec] law [department] ay hindi pwedeng gamitin iyong family name ng in-law,” Garcia said during the budget deliberations on Comelec’s proposed P11.5-billion budget for 2026.

(She should not have used the surname of her in-law because that is not her family name. The contention that they can use a stage name does not apply because it's not a stage name. The initial determination of the Comelec law department is that you cannot use the family name of your in-law.)

Drixie is the sister-in-law of Duterte Youth party-list chairperson Ronald Cardema.

Ronald is married to Drixie’s sister, Ducielle, who served as Duterte Youth party-list Representative from 2019 to 2022.

Ronald previously argued that his sister-in-law Drixie used his surname for “name recall.”

But Garcia on Tuesday said that Republic Act 7941 or the Party-list Law does not provide for the use of nicknames or aliases.

“Nung nag-accomplish po kayo ng form para sa inyong CONA, wala pong nickname na hiningi. Kasi ang tumatakbo naman po, hindi kayo, hindi po iyong mga nominees, kung hindi po ang organization,” Garcia said.

(When nominees for party-list accomplished their CONA, we did not ask for nicknames. Because in the party-list race, it is the organization that is the candidate, not the nominees. ) 

“Hindi po talaga kami nanghihingi ng nickname so hindi po pwedeng gamitin sa amin yung defense na that's just a nickname. Any misrepresentation, especially if the misrepresentation is material, is an election offense,” Garcia added.

(We don't really ask for nicknames so you cannot use the defense that it was just a nickname.)

Likewise, Garcia said Drixie can be held liable for falsification and perjury of public documents.

“This is because under oath po iyong COC [and corresponding CONA],” Garcia added.

(These documents are under oath.)

COC is the certificate of candidacy for the candidate, while CONA is for the nominee of the political party or party-list group.

GMA News Online has reached out to Drixie Cardema's camp for comment. — BM/KG, GMA Integrated News

For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.