MANILA, Philippines — Former Commission of Elections (Comelec) commissioner Rowena Guanzon on Sunday, October 6, filed a Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) for the Komunidad ng Pamilya, Pasyente at Persons with Disabilities (P3PWD) Party-list, as its first nominee.
She arrived at the Comelec’s certificate of candidacy and CONA filing site, Manila hotel tent, in wheelchair.
The former poll body official was listed as the party’s first nominee following her retirement in Comelec on Feb. 2, 2022.
House seat blocked in 2022
The party won a seat in the House of Representatives during the 2022 elections, garnering 391,174 votes. However, she was not able to occupy the House post after former National Youth Commission chairperson Ronald Cardema blocked her proclamation before the Supreme Court.
Duterte Youth Party-list in June 2022 asked the Supreme Court to block and void Guanzon’s occupancy in a House seat, arguing that Guanzon’s substitution as a nominee for the party-list was submitted past beyond deadline. Duterte Youth cited that the deadline established by Comelec Resolution No. 9366 was Nov. 15, 2021.
Guanzon’s substitution was filed in June after the elections on May 9, when substitutions due to the death or incapacity of original nominees were permitted only until mid-day.
In 2019, she opposed a similar substitution within the Duterte Youth, denying Cardema a seat in the House.
Graft case
Meanwhile, Guanzon was indicted by the Ombudsman over complaints of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The aspiring party-list representative faced complaints for prematurely disclosing confidential information about the vote of one of the Comelec commissioners regarding the disqualification case of then-presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during two media interviews.
Guanzon also revealed the vote of Comelec Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, who voted in favor of Marcos, in a social media post.
She then assailed the Ombudsman’s indictment. However, the Ombudsman rejected the appeal, saying Guanzon did “not raise any new or substantial legitimate ground or reason.”
Last week, the former poll body official said that she would still appeal the Ombudsman’s ruling.
“I am determined to continue this fight for integrity, transparency, and public accountability before our courts, where I have faith that truth, right and justice shall prevail,” Guanzon said in a statement.
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