Guanzon faces graft case for ‘premature disclosure’ in 2022 elections

UNDER FIRE | In a post on social media, former poll body Commissioner Rowena Guazon said she would appeal the Ombudsman’s decision to charge her for allegedly revealing confidential information about the disqualification cases against then-presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022.

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to indict former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon on two counts of graft for “prematurely disclosing confidential information” about the cases seeking to disqualify then-presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from running in the May 2022 elections.

In a 12-page resolution signed on July 25, 2023, and made public only on Monday, the Ombudsman ordered the filing of two counts of violation of Section 3(k) of Republic Act No. 3019 against Guanzon, who was accused of the “improper disclosure” of confidential information in two media interviews she gave in 2022.

The said provision prohibits “divulging valuable information of a confidential character, acquired by his office or by him on account of his official position to unauthorized persons, or releasing such information in advance of its authorized release date.”

At the time she gave the interviews, Guanzon was the presiding officer of the Comelec’s First Division, which was handling the petitions to disqualify Marcos for tax evasion and his failure to file income tax returns.

On Jan. 27, 2022, Guanzon told GMA News’ Sandra Aguinaldo that she had voted in favor of disqualifying Marcos on the grounds of moral turpitude.

At the same time, she alleged that the release of the Comelec resolution on the disqualification cases was being “intentionally delayed” to negate her vote since she was set to retire in a few days.

The next day, Guanzon appeared in an interview with Rappler’s Paterno Esmaquel II, where she justified her vote to disqualify Marcos from the presidential race and also revealed the identity of the ponente (author) of the supposedly delayed Comelec resolution. Without authority

The complaint against her was filed by lawyers Ferdinand Topacio and Diego Magpantay of the Citizens’ Crime Watch who accused her of making “premature public disclosures” without “authority or justifiable reasons.”

In its resolution, the Office of the Ombudsman agreed with the arguments made by Topacio and Magpantay, as it cited Comelec Resolution No. 10685, which deems as confidential all information, documents, and records known in the exercise of one’s official capacity.

It also referred to a Supreme Court en banc resolution that prohibits the disclosure of a ponente’s identity and internal deliberations — a provision that applies to the other branches of government, including the Comelec.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Guanzon said she would file an appeal as she pointed out that there was no confidential information to be disclosed at the time she gave the interviews since the commissioners had yet to vote on the resolution which had not been written. “And let’s not forget that this case in the Ombudsman is a retaliatory act of Ferdinand Topacio whom I accused of cyber unjust vexation and is facing trial in the [Bacolod Regional Trial Court],” she added.

“That case filed by Topacio is related to my interviews about the Marcos disqualification case. It was my duty to inform the public that there were powerful people who were interfering in Comelec … and the elections were at serious risk,” Guanzon said.