Rowena Guanzon
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]
Rowena V. Guanzon | |
|---|---|
 Guanzon's official portrait as a commissioner of the Commission on Elections | |
| COMELEC Commissioner | |
| In office April 28, 2015 – February 2, 2022 | |
| Appointed by | Benigno Aquino III |
| COA Commissioner | |
| In office March 18, 2013 – April 28, 2015 | |
| Appointed by | Benigno Aquino III |
| Mayor of Cadiz | |
| In office 1986–1992 | |
| Appointed by | Corazon Aquino |
| Preceded by | Prudencio Olvido |
| Succeeded by | Vicente Tabanao |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Maria Rowena Amelia Villena Guanzon August 29, 1957 (age 64) Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Alma mater | University of the Philippines Diliman (BA, LLB) Harvard University (MPM) |
| Profession | Lawyer Public Servant Politician COMELEC Commissioner (2015–2022) COA Commissioner (2013–2015) |
Guanzon was mayor of Cadiz City 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 Guanzón, while her mother, Elvira Villena Guanzón, is a lawyer and former Cadiz City vice-mayor.[7]
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 City
Guanzon was appointed mayor of Cadiz City, 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 City 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.
On 2022, Guanzon notably presided over the disqualification case filed against presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos that was raffled for the 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]
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
- "Commission on Elections - Commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon". Commission on Elections. March 28, 2018.
- Cruz, RG. "Duterte camp blasts Comelec commissioner". ABS-CBN News.
- Weston, Bonnie (August 22, 1987). "Facing down warlord is part of job for young mayor". The Gazette (Montreal). p. B-5.
- "Comelec commissioner Guanzon says Miriam Santiago is her idol". GMA News Online.
- "Roxas". Guanzon Merchandising Corporation. June 30, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- Pacete, Ver F. (January 15, 2016). "Pacete: Hacienda culture in Negros politics". Sunstar. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- "Rowena Guanzon: 'Comelec version' of Miriam Santiago". Sunstar. September 29, 2016.
- "Commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon". Commission on Elections, Republic of the Philippines. March 28, 2018.
- "SU alumna named Comelec Commissioner". Dumaguete Post. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- 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.
- "Escalante Massacre". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. October 12, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- 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.
- Gomez, Carla P. (March 13, 2013). "Law professor named audit commissioner". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- "Archived copy". coa.gov.ph. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "'His wife already knows,' Guanzon says of senator behind delay in Bongbong Marcos' DQ cases". inquirer.net. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- Patinio, Ferdinand (February 10, 2022). "Comelec division dismisses DQ cases vs. Marcos". pna.gov.ph. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)