Guanzon acts unauthorized, says Bautista

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Andres Bautista on Friday said the comments of the poll body on Sen. Grace Poe’s disqualification cases submitted to the Supreme Court by Commissioner Rowena Guanzon were “unauthorized.”

Guanzon on Thursday filed supposedly the poll body’s comment, asking the high court to junk Poe’s two petitions challenging the Comelec’s disqualification resolutions.

Bautista, in a memorandum, questioned Guanzon’s move and asked her to explain “under whose authority was the comment filed?”

The memorandum was addressed to Guanzon and Comelec law department director Maria Norina Tangaro-Casingal.

Bautista said Guanzon filed the comment without any clearance from his office or the commission en banc.

“Why was the undersigned nor any of the other members of the commission given the opportunity to review the comment and provide their comments thereto?” Bautista said in his memorandum.

The Comelec chair added that his name was also included in the comment but he was not given the opportunity to read the document or affix his signature.

“I find these acts not only irregular but personally disrespectful,” Bautista said.

“Please provide your explanations… within 24 hours from receipt of the memorandum. If found unsatisfactory, I may be constrained to inform the Supreme Court that the filing of the comment was unauthorized,” he told Guanzon.

Bautista also said that he had been advised that the Comelec could file its comment on Jan. 12 although a request had been made that it be filed a day earlier so that the justices would have time to read it before their Jan. 12 en banc meeting.

The Inquirer tried but failed to reach Guanzon for comment.