Guanzon won't inhibit from Duterte DQ cases

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division on Monday denied the motion filed by the camp of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, which asked Commissioner Rowena Guanzon to inhibit from proceedings on petitions lodged against his candidacy.

In a three-page order, the First Division denied the motion for lack of merit.

All three members of the division, including Guanzon, signed the order.

The other members of the division are Commissioner Christian Robert Lim, presiding officer, and Commissioner Luie Tito Guia.

"It bears stressing that the ground for inhibition of a Member of this Commission invoked by respondent Duterte are voluntary, and not mandatory, as explicitly stated in Rule 4, Comelec Rules of Procedure," the order read.

Attached to the order are two memorandums from Guanzon, where she said she was not inhibiting from the cases.

In the first memorandum, Guanzon denied the claim of Duterte's camp that she had "prejudged" his case when she became the lone dissenting vote in the en banc decision to accept Duterte's COC for president.

"My dissenting vote on that resolution does not show that I believe, before the hearings began, that the COC of Duterte must be cancelled," she wrote. "It merely means that I wanted the [Ruben] Castor vs. Duterte case to be heard before I vote to accept his COC."

'Not my sorority sister'

She also denied close association with Maria Shiela Bazar, lawyer of UP student leader John Paulo delas Nieves, who is one of the four petitioners against the mayor.

"[Bazar] is not my relative, nor my sorority sister," Guanzon said. "She is a member of a 'rival' sorority in UP. She is a member of the now inactive Gender Justice Network, which is open to women lawyers from all colleges of law and law students. She is, like myself, a member of the UP Women Lawyers' Circle because we graduated from the UP College of law."

Duterte's camp raised their alleged relationship in the motion, where they  attached annexes to the 17-page motion, featuring screen captures of the Facebook group of Gender Justice Network.

Some of the posts there, dated late 2011, showed photos of Guanzon and Bazar together at events, including their Christmas party and a Department of Justice summit.

A first set of screen captures showed the photos, taken Jan. 11. Another set, taken the following day, showed that the contents were already unavailable.

In her defense, Guanzon wrote, "The Yahoo!, Facebook groups 'Gender Justice Network,' and Instagram account that Duterte's lawyers refer to are long dormant. In fact, that picture of me with Atty. Bazar was taken in 2011 or five years ago with another lawyers who was at the RTC of Makati."

'I have met many lawyers'

Guanzon also said that as trial lawyer, author, and professor who has specialized in women's rights, she has "naturally" met many others in her line of work.

"I have met many lawyers in the course of my work and advocacies. I also have lawyer friends who are associated with political parties or candidates. I am confident that none of them, including my classmates, expect a favorable decision from me by reason of our association," she said.

Guanzon added that she will decide on every case "without bias."

In the second memorandum, she said her stand against inhibiting applies to all four petitions filed against Duterte.

The said cases—filed by Castor, Delas Nieves, and disqualified presidential aspirants Rizalito David and Elly Pamatong—have been consolidated and now waiting for resolution. —ALG/KBK, GMA News