Guanzon confident Marcos Jr. won't sue her over 'magnanakaw' remark

CEBU CITY — Retired poll commissioner Rowena Guanzon is confident that the camp of presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will not pursue legal action against her for her "magnanakaw" remark.

Guanzon said it was accurate to call the Marcoses "thieves."

"Well, it has to be Marcos Jr. who has to file a case because it is personal but he has no course of action because everything I said is true," she told reporters on Saturday when asked about the possible legal actions against her due to her remarks.

"It's all based on a fair and true report. They really owe the country P203 billion and they have been called 'magnanakaw' before by the Guinness Book of World Records," she added, in an apparent reference to the Marcos family's estate tax debt.

At the campaign rally of Cebu City's Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) party, Guanzon called for support for the PWD partylist and presidential candidate and Vice President Leni Robredo.

In her speech, Guanzon recalled how the Osmeñas fought the dictatorship of Bongbong's father, the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

She took aim at the Marcos family, describing them as "magnanakaw."

The former poll official also called Marcos Jr. a "liar," a "thief," "dumb," and a "cocaine addict."

Guanzon, meanwhile, welcomed the Commission on Elections' decision to resolve the petitions against Marcos Jr.'s presidential bid before the end of April.

"It has to be before the end of April because it will go up to the Supreme Court. The final decision is with the Supreme Court. I'm sure that they want to give the Supreme Court enough time to decide it before May 9 (election day)," she said.

She expressed confidence that the high court would decide on the disqualification cases based on evidence.

"The Supreme Court will base it on evidence kung may moral turpitude ba o wala so kahit i-delay nila yan ganun din idi-[disqualify] din siya ng Supreme Court kung may basehan sa evidence," she added.

(The Supreme Court will base it on evidence if there is moral turpitude or not. Even if they delay the ruling, the Supreme Court will disqualify him if evidence exists.)

Before she retired on February 2, Guanzon had released her separate opinion on the consolidated disqualification cases against Marcos Jr.'s candidacy.

Her position was to disqualify Marcos Jr. from the presidential race due to moral turpitude, which stemmed from his conviction for non-filing of income tax returns from 1982 to 1985.

On February 10, the Comelec Former First Division dismissed the cases against the presidential candidate for lack of merit. Guanzon's vote was not taken into account since the resolution was promulgated after her retirement.

Motions for reconsideration were subsequently filed before the Comelec en banc. Any decision that the Comelec releases is appealable before the Supreme Court.

Moreover, Guanzon echoed election watchdog Kontra Daya's warning that if Marcos wins the presidency before the disqualification cases against him are finally resolved, he may exercise influence over other government branches.

"'Yun nga ang delikado nga d'yan kung manalo na 'yan eh nakaupo na siya 'di ba baka nga he will try to influence the Supreme Court," she said.

(That's the dangerous thing here. If he wins, he will probably try to influence the Supreme Court.)

In a recent interview with GMA News Online, Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao said "things are in favor of Marcos" in terms of resolving the disqualification cases against him.

"The fact that there was a delay points to the likely scenario that, for example, if he gets elected as president, he would wield political power and influence to sort of put decisions in his favor," Arao said. — VBL, GMA News