WITH the Duterte Youth group on the brink of disqualification, the Gabriela party-list yesterday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to proclaim it instead as among the winners in the May 12 polls.
In a letter to Comelec chairman George Garcia, Gabriela urged the poll body to proclaim the women’s party-list organization in lieu of Duterte Youth.
“We urge you to consider our appeal for genuine representation, especially for marginalized sectors like the vast majority of impoverished women in the country,” said Gabriela.
“We appeal to the Commission to proclaim the most consistent champion of women’s and people’s rights in Congress – the Gabriela party-list,” it added.
Gabriela placed 55th in the May 12 party-list race after getting 256,811 votes.
However, only the top 54 party-list organizations were able to secure votes enough to earn seats in the House of Representatives.
Of the top 54 party-list groups, 53 have already been proclaimed by the National Board of Canvassers.
Duterte Youth, which placed 2nd with 2,338,564 votes, has yet to be proclaimed and was even stripped of its registration by the Comelec Second Division.
In an earlier interview, Garcia said they are avoiding discussions on what will happen in case Duterte Youth gets disqualified with finality, saying such discussions would be premature as the party-list still has a pending Motion for Reconsideration (MR) before the Comelec en banc.
