Rift among top Comelec execs bared on social media
FILE PHOTO: Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon.
MANILA, Philippines — Elections Commissioner Rowena Guanzon unleashed a Twitter rant late on Friday apparently directed at Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Sheriff Abas who had earlier scolded Comelec staff for not following his instructions.
“Who? Who is the idiot?” Guanzon tweeted in Tagalog, hours after attending an online news conference with Abas and four other commissioners.
“Why drag me into it. Who is the idiot? I have my UP (University of the Philippines) Law and Harvard degrees. Who is the idiot?” she followed in another tweet.
Guanzon, a two-term mayor of Cadiz City, is an alumna of UP where she received degrees in economics and law. She also received a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.
The angry posts stemmed from what Abas said as he scolded James Jimenez, spokesperson for the Comelec, for holding an in-person news briefing instead of the virtual press conference he apparently ordered for the end of the period for the filing of certificates of candidacy at 5 p.m. on Friday at Sofitel Garden Tent.
“Can’t you follow instructions? I’m annoyed at you, EID,” Abas said in Tagalog, referring to the Comelec education and information department, headed by Jimenez.
“You better watch out. I said, virtual. Why do you listen to others? You’re idiots. Why didn’t you follow my instruction that it should be virtual?” Abas continued, as one of the candidates spoke to reporters before the news briefing.
“You’re afraid of Guanzon, but you’re not afraid of me? Make everything virtual,” he went on, apparently unaware that the incident was being streamed on Facebook Live, which at that time had about 200 viewers.
The staff of the EID was also caught flat-footed and did not realize that the incident was being recorded on Facebook Live, but they erased the video before holding a virtual press conference that included Abas, Guanzon, and four other commissioners. INQ
