A group in support of Commissioner Rowena Guanzon will gather in front of the Commission on Elections in Intramuros, Manila, at 9 a.m. Monday, January 31, to say the Holy Rosary.
“Commissioner Rowena Guanzon is fighting for the rule of law, let’s support her and pray,” Wilfredo Gatbonton Villanueva of the “Stand Up for God Rosary Group” said in a Facebook post Sunday, January 30.
“If evil persists the Holy Spirit will manifest itself among men and women of faith,” he told Digicast Negros, that is why they issued the call for prayers.
People from other areas have said they will pray simultaneously with them, he said
He also invited people to join them in a Holy Mass at the Manila Cathedral at 7:30 a.m. Monday.
Individuals supporting Guanzon who is from Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, have been attaching this hashtag to their posts #IStandWith Guanzon.
Guanzon, presiding Commissioner of the Comelec’s 1st Division, has accused Commissioner Aimee Ferolino of delaying the release of the resolution in three disqualification cases filed against presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Guanzon, in a memorandum to Ferolino on Friday, said “I have no other conclusion than that you are deliberately delaying the release of your ponencia until after I retire in order to defeat my vote. This way, my separate opinion will not be attached to the majority resolution and will not form part of the records”.
She instructed Ferolino to submit a written explanation not later than noon Monday, January 31, why she delayed the release of her ponencia.
Guanzon has alleged that an influential senator is behind the delay, and denied the allegation of Ferolino that she was trying to influence her decision.
Ferolino, in a letter to Comelec chairman Sheriff Abas Friday, denied that she was delaying the release of the resolution of the case and accused Guanzon of trying to influence her decision.
Guanzon, in response, said “she should answer the public’s question: Did she receive a bribe to delay her ponencia so my vote to DQ BBM will not be counted. If it is not true then she should release her ponencia by Monday.”
“If I am influencing her by sending her my separate opinion then she must be weak in the head. My reminding her to release her overdue delayed ponencia is my duty as presiding commissioner,” Guanzon said.
Whatever is the outcome the losing party will file a motion for reconsideration in the Commission En Banc and all the way to the Supreme Court, Guanzon said.
“It is in the nation’s interest that this DQ case be decided by the Supreme Court as soon as possible. We only have three months before May 9,” Guanzon said.
“Why doesn’t she just release her ponencia resolution so I can attach my vote or separate opinion? There may be a million reasons for this mystery,” Guanzon said.
Ferolino told Abas “it is quite appalling that Commissioner Guanzon was able to draft an opinion when the ponencia has not yet submitted her resolution and all the case records are in my possession.”
Ferolino had time to write the Comelec chair but not her ponencia resolution/decision, Guanzon said.
Why were there cases raffled to her after the Marcos cases that she has resolved, Guanzon also asked.
“Even if the records were with her, I had soft copies. All documents filed were in soft copies and there was a transcript of stenographic notes of the preliminary conference on January 7. So she knew the admissions of both parties,” Guanzon said.*