The Honorable
Rowena Guanzon
Guanzon possible official portrait during the 19th Congress
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives for P3PWD
Assuming office
To be confirmed
SucceedingN/A
Commissioner of the Commission on Elections
In office
April 28, 2015 – February 2, 2022
Appointed byBenigno Aquino III
Commissioner of the Commission on Audit
In office
March 18, 2013 – April 28, 2015
Appointed byBenigno Aquino III
Mayor of Cadiz
In office
March 1986 – June 30, 1992
Appointed byCorazon Aquino
Preceded byPrudencio Olvido
Succeeded byVicente Tabanao
Personal details
Born
Maria Rowena Amelia Villena Guanzon

(1957-08-29) August 29, 1957
Cadiz, Negros Occidental, Philippines
Political partyP3PWD
Alma materUniversity of the Philippines Diliman (BA, LL.B.)
Harvard University (MPA)
ProfessionLawyer, Public Servant, Politician

Maria Rowena Amelia Villena Guanzon (Tagalog pronunciation: [rɔˈwena ˈgwanzon], born August 29, 1957), is a Filipina lawyer, public servant, and politician who notably served as Philippine Commission on Elections commissioner from 2015 to 2022 under President Benigno Aquino III and President Rodrigo Duterte.[1] She had been an audit commissioner before taking office at the Philippine Commission on Elections in February 2015.[2]

Guanzon was mayor of Cadiz in Negros Occidental until 1992,[3] and also served as chief of staff to late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, whom she still considers a role model.[4]

Early life and education

Guanzon was born on August 29, 1957, to the prominent Guanzon family of Negros Occidental,[5] known for its sugarcane plantations or haciendas.[5][6] Her father is now-retired Regional Trial Court judge Sixto Roxas Guanzon, while her mother, Elvira Causing Villena, is a lawyer and former Cadiz vice-mayor.[7] "Bing" attended Yuba City High School in California as an exchange student 1974-75. Guanzon attended Silliman University High School in Dumaguete. She then took up economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman, and upon graduation proceeded to earn her law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law, graduating in the top ten of her class and receiving a dean's medal.[8]

Guanzon also holds a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government,[9] where she was an Edward S. Mason fellow and class marshal.[8]

Career

Mayor of Cadiz

Guanzon was appointed mayor of Cadiz, Negros Occidental in 1986 under the Provisional Government of the Philippines, which was formed after the 1986 People Power revolution that ousted the Marcos regime and led to the exile of Ferdinand Marcos.[3]

At 28, the appointment made Guanzon the youngest mayor in the Philippines.[3] She was appointed after several other candidates had declined to be mayor of Cadiz, fearing violence from local strongman Armando Gustilo,[10] who had played a key role in the Escalante massacre just a few months earlier, in September 1985.[3][11] Due to the constant harassment by Gustilo and his supporters, she had to carry firearms for defense, even during social occasions and public events.[3]

The provisional government soon proposed a new constitution, and its ratification in February 1986 meant that appointed local government posts would be replaced by elected officials from the 1988 Philippine elections. Guanzon ran and then won the seat she had been appointed to, as Cadiz mayor.[12]

She served as mayor until the end of her term in 1992.[12]

University of the Philippines College of Law, Diliman

Guanzon taught Election Law and Local Government at the University of the Philippines College of Law in UP Diliman.[8]

Commission on Audit

On March 8, 2013, she was appointed commissioner to the Commission on Audit (COA),[13] promising "to give priority to gender and development" upon her appointment.[14] The COA commissioners at the time were Chairperson Ma. Gracia M. Pulido Tan and Commissioner Heidi L. Mendoza, and Guanzon's filling of the third seat made the COA an all-women-led agency.[13]

Commission on Elections

On April 28, 2015, Guanzon was named a commissioner to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for a seven-year term, lasting until February 2022.

During the 2022 Philippine presidential election, Guanzon notably presided over the disqualification cases filed against presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos that were raffled to the COMELEC First division. Days before retirement, Guanzon publicly named fellow commissioner Aimee Ferolino as "the one delaying the decision in favor of Marcos" before leaving the post. Guanzon claimed that Ferolino was purposely delaying her resolution regarding the disqualification case for Guanzon's vote to not be counted because of pending retirement. Guanzon publicly expressed dismay against Ferolino, and mentioned that an "influential senator" was also interfering with the case. Meanwhile, Ferolino lambasted Guanzon for "mind conditioning" the public against her and reiterated that "she needed more time".[15] Eventually, the First Division decided to junk the petition in favor of Marcos after Guanzon's retirement.[16]

P3PWD Party List

Rowena Guanzon campaigned for the P3PWD Party List during the 2022 House of Representatives elections although she was not among the official nominees of the organization. The partylist won a single seat.[17][18]

On June 14, 2022, all of P3PWD's nominees withdrew and a new set of nominees was named with Guanzon as its first nominee. The Commission on Elections approved the substitution and Guanzon took oath on June 23. Guanzon's assumption of her position as P3PWD representative was halted by a temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court taking action on the petition of Ronald and Ducielle Marie Cardema of the Duterte Youth.[19][20]

Publications

Guanzon's published works include Issues and Problems in the Enforcement of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, Philippine Law Journal (Dec 2008); Constitutional Challenges to the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, Journal of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (March 2009); The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act: Issues and Problems, Journal of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and Legal and Conceptual Framework of Battered Woman Syndrome as a Defense, Philippine Law Journal (Vol. 86, No. 1 December 2011).

The U.P. Law Center also published Guanzon's book, The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act Notes and Cases in 2014. Guanzon is currently writing textbooks on The Local Government Code for the University of the Philippines and The Auditing Code of the Philippines Casebook.

References

  1. ↑ "Commission on Elections - Commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon". Commission on Elections. March 28, 2018.
  2. ↑ Cruz, RG. "Duterte camp blasts Comelec commissioner". ABS-CBN News.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Weston, Bonnie (August 22, 1987). "Facing down warlord is part of job for young mayor". The Gazette (Montreal). p. B-5.
  4. ↑ "Comelec commissioner Guanzon says Miriam Santiago is her idol". GMA News Online.
  5. 1 2 "Roxas". Guanzon Merchandising Corporation. June 30, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  6. ↑ Pacete, Ver F. (January 15, 2016). "Pacete: Hacienda culture in Negros politics". Sunstar. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Rowena Guanzon: 'Comelec version' of Miriam Santiago". Sunstar. September 29, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 "Commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon". Commission on Elections, Republic of the Philippines. March 28, 2018.
  9. ↑ "SU alumna named Comelec Commissioner". Dumaguete Post. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  10. ↑ Williams, Nick B. Jr. (July 5, 1986). "Philippine Strongman Feeling Pressure: New Mayor, Old-Style 'Don' Wrestle for Grass-Roots Power". LA Times. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Escalante Massacre". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. October 12, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  12. 1 2 Gomez, Carla P. (January 30, 2022). "Rowena Guanzon: Who's this poll exec in a fighting mood days before retirement?". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Gomez, Carla P. (March 13, 2013). "Law professor named audit commissioner". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  14. ↑ "News Releases - New COA Commissioner prioritizes gender and development". coa.gov.ph. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  15. ↑ "'His wife already knows,' Guanzon says of senator behind delay in Bongbong Marcos' DQ cases". inquirer.net. February 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  16. ↑ Patinio, Ferdinand (February 10, 2022). "Comelec division dismisses DQ cases vs. Marcos". pna.gov.ph. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Guanzon in limbo as P3PWD nominee despite celebratory posts as incoming solon". CNN Philippines. May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  18. ↑ Cruz, RG (May 16, 2022). "Comelec yet to receive substitution docs for P3PWD party-list". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  19. ↑ Macairan, Evelyn (June 30, 2022). "SC halts Guanzon party-list bid". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  20. ↑ Locus, Sundy (July 14, 2022). "Comelec asks Guanzon to answer petition to cancel her party-list nomination". GMA News. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
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