Comelec proclaims 3 partylists, replacing Duterte Youth vacated seats

The Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the national board of canvassers (NBOC), on Thursday officially proclaimed three party-lists as the winning party-list groups in the 2025 May elections. 

The proclamations bring the total number of House members to 318.

Abono party-list nominee Robert Raymond Estrella, Ang Probinsyano party-list nominee Alfred Co delos Santos, and Murang Kuryente party-list nominee Arthur Yap took took their oath before Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III to officially join the House roster for the 20th Congress.

Three party-list reps. took their oath as members of the House today, October 2

Abono party-list Rep. Robert Raymond Estrella
Murang Kuryente party-list Rep. Arthur Yap and
Ang Probinsyano party-list Rep. Alfred Co delos Santos@gmanews pic.twitter.com/b8T6pqqhjd

— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) October 2, 2025

Their oath taking was held just hours after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed the three to fill the seats vacated by the Duterte Youth following the cancelation of its registration. 

“Ang mga nominees ay papalit sa tatlong supposed seats ng Duterte Youth sapagkat naging final and executory ang decision ng commission en banc laban sa kanila,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said earlier. 

(They will fulfill the three seats supposedly to be awarded to the Duterte Youth after the en banc decision disqualifying them became final and executory.)

Estrella, Co delos Santos, and Yap received the certificates of proclamations on behalf of their respective organizations during a formal ceremony at the Comelec Office in Intramuros, Manila. 

“Ang ginawa ng NBOC, bumaba kami sa tatlo consistent sa ginawa namin sa kaso ng An-Waray,” said Garcia. 

(The NBOC proclaimed the three next partylists consistent to our decision to the case of An-Waray partylist.)

On Wednesday, the poll body issued a certificate of finality and entry of judgment, affirming the disqualification of the Duterte Youth party-list. 

This comes after the 30-day finality period lapsed without the Supreme Court (SC) issuing a temporary restraining order on an August en banc decision nullifying the registration of the Duterte Youth party-list as void ab initio due to its failure to comply with the mandatory requirements of publication and hearing in relation to its candidacy in 2019.

It also found the partylist committed other grounds for cancellation including untruthful statements on their petition particularly the eligibility of their nominees; and having no bona fide intention to represent the sector they want to represent. 

The en banc also said the withdrawal and substitution en masse as well as the switching of Duterte Youth partylist nominees in the 2019 rolls undermined the spirit and intent of the partylist system and put the election process in mockery. 

On September 3, Duterte Youth asked the SC to issue a TRO that would prevent the Comelec from enforcing its ruling that upheld the nullification of the party-list group's registration.

In a 34-page petition, it also asked the High Court to issue a writ of preliminary injunction and status quo ante order to restore the status before the promulgation of the nullification.

The Duterte Youth asked the SC to nullify and set aside Comelec's rulings on the matter, arguing that these were issued with "grave abuse of discretion."

Ronald Cardema, chairperson of Duterte Youth, had said that even if there are those who do not like his party-list organization, Filipinos would like at least one congressman who would push for the restoration of the death penalty for all the corrupt individuals and plunderers.

Duterte Youth, which stands for Duty to Energize the Republic through the Enlightenment of the Youth Sectoral Party-list Organization, ranked second during the May 12 elections, garnering 2,338,564 votes and translating to three seats at the House of Representatives. 

Under the Party-list law, a minimum of 2% voter share in a party-list race is good for one seat. Thereafter, an additional seat is granted to the party-list proportional to its additional percentage of voter share. 

However, only a maximum of three seats is allowed.

Party-list groups that earned less than 2% of the voter share in the party-list race, however, can still get one seat if the nominees of party-list groups that earned at least 2% are not enough to fill the 64 seats allotted for party-list groups as provided for under the Constitution.

Only the top five winning party-list groups received the minimum 2% of votes cast to secure a House seat.

The remaining 52 party-list groups which secured one seat each only had a share of .59% to 1.86% of votes cast in the party-list race. — with Llanesca T. Panti/BM, GMA Integrated News

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