Guanzon to seek dismissal of graft raps

FORMER Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Rowena Guanzon yesterday said she will file a motion for reconsideration today to seek the recall of the December 7, 2023 resolution of the Office of the Ombudsman indicting her on two counts of violation of Section 3 (k) of RA 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for alleged disclosure of confidential information.

Guanzon said the findings of the investigation were defective because there was actually no disclosure of confidential matters to speak of in either of her interviews with journalists Sandra Aguinaldo of GMA News on January 27, 2022 and to Paterno Esmaquel II of Rappler on January 28, 2022.

Graft investigation and prosecution officer Fatima Kristine J. Franco-Ilao has held that Guanzon violated the prohibition against divulging valuable information under Section 3 (k) of RA 3019 when she announced that she voted to disqualify then presidential bet Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in her interview with Aguinaldo, and then named Commissioner Aimee Ferolino as the ponente who was assigned to write the resolution in the disqualification case in the Esmaquel interview.

The prosecutor said the disclosure was improper because the disqualification cases were still pending before the Comelec First Division at the time.

However, Guanzon explained that contrary to the Ombudsman’s findings, there were no ongoing deliberations when she was interviewed since there was, as yet, no ponencia to discuss.

“I did not mention anything confidential at the TV interview. There was no voting taking place, no internal deliberations taking place. On Rappler Talk, I even expressed hope that the ponente would submit the decision so the three of us (in the First Division) can vote on it,” she pointed out.

“Until we vote (on the ponencia), there was no confidential vote to speak of,” she added.

The former Comelec commissioner said her counsel will file her motion for reconsideration with the Office of the Ombudsman Tuesday.

She said she will also request that a different graft investigation and prosecution officer be assigned to review her case.

“I will ask the Ombudsman to assign my MR to another lawyer for fairness,” Guanzon