The feisty Negrense former Commission on Elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon said she will fight for the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens if her partylist group, P3PWD, garners enough votes on May 9 to win a seat in the Lower House.
“When we win a seat I will substitute as representative of P3PWD, which is No. 54 on the ballot. You can be sure that I will work tirelessly for the PWDs and senior citizens by pushing for laws for their rights, benefits and welfare,” Guanzon, who is from Cadiz City in Negros Occidental, said on Friday, May 6.
P3PWD is representing PWDs, children with special needs, seniors and those with chronic illnesses who have long been unrepresented in Congress, she said.
“We are not financed by contractors or a front for politicians unlike some partylist groups,” Guanzon said.
“As one who is from Negros Occidental, you can rely on me to protect the sugar industry, the main source of jobs for our people,” she added.
Growing up in Cadiz, Guanzon was exposed as a young girl to her parents’, particularly her mother’s public service.
She saw a steady stream of people seeking help, including pro bono legal assistance, from her mother, the late Elvira Guanzon, who had served as a board member of Negros Occidental and as a politician for 36 years, Guanzon said.
Guanzon’s father, former Judge Sixto Guanzon Sr., was only 17 years old when he joined a guerrilla intelligence unit in Kabankalan City. He was captured and beaten up by the Japanese but later escaped to continue fighting. He later received the United States Congressional Gold Medal for heroism.
“My parents were courageous, patriotic people. They taught us to stand up and fight for what is right even if it cost you your conveniences and your life,” Guanzon said.*