Wikipedia

Rowena Guanzon

Maria Rowena Amelia "Bing" Villena Guanzon (Tagalog pronunciation: [rɔˈwena ˈgwanzon], born August 29, 1957), is a Filipina lawyer, public servant and politician who served as Philippine Commission on Elections commissioner under Presidents Benigno Aquino III and Rodrigo Duterte.[2] She had been an audit commissioner before taking office at the Philippine Commission on Elections in February 2015.[3]

Rowena Guanzon
Official portrait, 2018
Commissioner of the Commission on Elections
In office
April 28, 2015 – February 2, 2022
Appointed byBenigno Aquino III
Preceded byElias Yusoph
Succeeded byAimee Torrefranca-Neri
Commissioner of the Commission on Audit
In office
March 18, 2013 – December 2013
Appointed byBenigno Aquino III
Preceded byJuanito Espino Jr.
Succeeded byJose Fabia
Mayor of Cadiz
In office
March 26, 1986[a] – June 30, 1992
Appointed byCorazon Aquino
Preceded byPrudencio Olvido
Succeeded byVicente Tabanao
Personal details
BornMaria Rowena Amelia Villena Guanzon
(1957-08-29) August 29, 1957 (age 68)[1]
Cadiz, Negros Occidental, Philippines
PartyIndependent (2026–present)
P3PWD (Party-list; 2022–present)
Other political
affiliations
NPC (1992)
University of the Philippines Diliman (BA, LL.B.)
Harvard University (MPA)
Profession
  • Lawyer
  • public servant
  • politician

Guanzon was mayor of Cadiz in Negros Occidental until 1992,[4] and also served as chief of staff to Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago.[5]

Guanzon is a prominent critic of the administration of President Bongbong Marcos. She is currently an ally of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Early life and education

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Guanzon was born on August 29, 1957 to the Guanzon family of Negros Occidental.[6] Guanzon attended primary school at Cadiz West Elementary School in Cadiz and graduated in 1970.[7][8] She attended secondary school at the Silliman University High School in Dumaguete.[9] She was almost expelled from Siliman for protesting against school rules in her fourth year. She graduated from Siliman in 1974.[9]

Guanzon graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman with a degree in Economics, and earned her law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law, graduating in the top ten of her class and receiving a dean's medal.[9][10]

Guanzon also holds a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government,[9][11] where she was an Edward S. Mason fellow and class marshal until she graduated in 1995.[9][10][12]

Career

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Mayor of Cadiz

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Guanzon was appointed mayor of Cadiz, Negros Occidental in 1986 under the Provisional Government of the Philippines, which was formed after the 1986 People Power revolution after several other candidates had declined to be mayor of Cadiz, fearing violence from local strongman Armando Gustilo.[4][13][14] At 28, the appointment made Guanzon the youngest mayor in the Philippines.[4] Due to the constant harassment by Gustilo and his supporters, she carried firearms for defense.[4]

After the ratification of the new Philippine constitution, Guanzon won the election as Cadiz mayor.[9] She served as mayor until the end of her term in 1992.[9]

Guanzon ran for representative of Negros Occidental's second district in 1992 as a member of NPC, but she lost the elections.[15]

University of the Philippines College of Law, Diliman

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Commission on Audit

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On March 8, 2013, she was appointed commissioner to the Commission on Audit (COA).[16][17] Guanzon served in the COA until December 2013.[18]

Commission on Elections

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On April 28, 2015, Guanzon was named a commissioner to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). During the 2022 Philippine presidential election, Guanzon presided over the disqualification cases filed against presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos. Guanzon publicly named fellow commissioner Aimee Ferolino as "the one delaying the decision in favor of Marcos" before leaving the post. Guanzon claimed that Ferolino was purposely delaying her resolution regarding the disqualification case for Guanzon's vote to not be counted because of pending retirement. Guanzon publicly expressed dismay against Ferolino, and mentioned that an "influential senator" was also interfering with the case. Ferolino criticized Guanzon for "mind conditioning" the public against her and reiterated that "she needed more time".[19] The First Division decided to dismiss the petition in favor of Marcos after Guanzon's retirement.[20]

P3PWD Party List

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Guanzon campaigned for the P3PWD Party List during the 2022 House of Representatives elections although she was not among the official nominees of the organization. The partylist won a single seat.[21][22]

On June 14, 2022, all of P3PWD's nominees withdrew and Guanzon was named as its first nominee. The Commission on Elections approved the substitution and Guanzon took oath on June 23. Guanzon's assumption of her position as P3PWD representative was halted by a temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court taking action on the petition of Duterte Youth.[23][24] In 2024, the Supreme Court barred Guanzon from taking her congressional office by nullifying her nomination, citing grave abuse of discretion by COMELEC in approving her substitution past the designated deadline.[25]

P3PWD contended again for a seat in the House of Representatives in the 2025 elections.[26]

2028 Philippine senate campaign

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On March 13, 2026, during the launching of the Cebu Alliance for Duterte 2028 (CAD) in Cebu City, Guanzon announced that her intention that she will run for the senate in 2028.[27] Guanzon said that she will fight for the Visayans and reclaiming a senate seat to represent the Cebuano people despite not being Cebuano herself.[28] Guanzon was also endorsed by CAD on that event along with pediatrician and media personality Richard Mata.[29][30] Vice President Sara Duterte revealed that Guanzon and three others have expressed their interests to be a part of her slate in 2028.[31]

Personal life

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Guanzon choose not to marry, describing herself as a feminism and attesting that she grew up in a family where women are neither encouraged or discourage to marry.[32]

In late 2025, Guanzon sued a person for unjust vexation and oral defmation after she was told off for coughing in at the Power Plant Mall in Makati.[33][34]

Electoral history

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Electoral history of Rowena Guanzon
Year Office Party Votes received Result
Total % P. Swing
1992 Representative (Negros Occidental–2nd) NPC 31,441 42.32% 2nd N/a Lost
2022 Representative (Party-list) P3PWD 391,174 1.06% 24th N/a Won (annulled)
2025 214,605 0.54% 65th N/a Lost

Publications

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  • Issues and Problems in the Enforcement of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 Philippine Law Journal (Dec 2008)
  • Constitutional Challenges to the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 Journal of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (March 2009)
  • The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act: Issues and Problems, Journal of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and Legal and Conceptual Framework of Battered Woman Syndrome as a Defense, Philippine Law Journal (Vol. 86, No. 1 December 2011)

The U.P. Law Center published Guanzon's book, The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act Notes and Cases in 2014.

Notes

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  1. ↑ Served as Officer in Charge Mayor of Cadiz from March 26, 1986 to June 30, 1988.

References

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  1. ↑ "8. P3PWD" (PDF). Commission on Elections. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Commission on Elections - Commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon". Commission on Elections. March 28, 2018.
  3. ↑ Cruz, RG. "Duterte camp blasts Comelec commissioner". ABS-CBN News.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Weston, Bonnie (August 22, 1987). "Facing down warlord is part of job for young mayor". The Gazette (Montreal). p. B-5.
  5. ↑ "Comelec commissioner Guanzon says Miriam Santiago is her idol". GMA News. GMA Network Inc. January 10, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Roxas". Guanzon Merchandising Corporation. June 30, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Guanzon on Cardema: Hindi 'yan victim, corrupt 'yan" [Guanzon on Cardema: Not a victim, a corrupt one]. GMA News. GMA Network Inc. August 23, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Rowena Guanzon attends Cadiz Elementary School reunion". Abogado PH. January 21, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gomez, Carla P. (January 30, 2022). "Rowena Guanzon: Who's this poll exec in a fighting mood days before retirement?". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon". Commission on Elections, Republic of the Philippines. March 28, 2018.
  11. ↑ "SU alumna named Comelec Commissioner". Dumaguete Post. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  12. ↑ "FACT CHECK: Harvard Did Not Disown Alumna Rowena Guanzon". One News. May 4, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  13. ↑ Williams, Nick B. Jr. (July 5, 1986). "Philippine Strongman Feeling Pressure: New Mayor, Old-Style 'Don' Wrestle for Grass-Roots Power". LA Times. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Escalante Massacre". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. October 12, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  15. ↑ Ager, Maila (June 9, 2015). "CA panel recommends confirmation of Guanzon's appointment". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  16. ↑ Gomez, Carla P. (March 13, 2013). "Law professor named audit commissioner". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  17. ↑ "News Releases - New COA Commissioner prioritizes gender and development". coa.gov.ph. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  18. ↑ "In the Know: New elections officials". INQUIRER.net. May 5, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  19. ↑ "'His wife already knows,' Guanzon says of senator behind delay in Bongbong Marcos' DQ cases". inquirer.net. February 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  20. ↑ Patinio, Ferdinand (February 10, 2022). "Comelec division dismisses DQ cases vs. Marcos". pna.gov.ph. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Guanzon in limbo as P3PWD nominee despite celebratory posts as incoming solon". CNN Philippines. May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  22. ↑ Cruz, RG (May 16, 2022). "Comelec yet to receive substitution docs for P3PWD party-list". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  23. ↑ Macairan, Evelyn (June 30, 2022). "SC halts Guanzon party-list bid". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  24. ↑ Locus, Sundy (July 14, 2022). "Comelec asks Guanzon to answer petition to cancel her party-list nomination". GMA News. GMA Network Inc. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  25. ↑ "SC: Party-list nomination of ex-Comelec exec Rowena Guanzon null and void". ABS-CBN. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  26. ↑ de Leon, Dwight (October 6, 2024). "Abrasive Rowena Guanzon rambles and rants as she revives congressional aspirations". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  27. ↑ Mendoza, Ralph (March 13, 2026). "Guanzon, tatakbong senador sa 2028!". Balita. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  28. ↑ Seares, Pachico A. (March 3, 2026). "Seares: Is Cebu so barren of Senate material that Negrense Rowena Guanzon offers to represent Cebuanos in 2028 election?". SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2026.
  29. ↑ Valeros, Meg Nathalie. "Cebu Alliance for Duterte endorses two Senate bets". Philstar.com. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Rowena Guanzon announces bid for Senate in 2028 elections". diskurso.ph. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Guanzon, 3 Others Eyeing Sara Duterte's 2028 Slate". OneNews.PH. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  32. ↑ Tomacruz, Sofia (August 20, 2019). "Comelec's fiery commissioner: Who is Rowena Guanzon?". RAPPLER. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Rowena Guanzon sues mall-goer for unjust vexation, oral defamation". December 27, 2025. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  34. ↑ Clores, Keith (December 7, 2025). "Rowena Guanzon files complaint vs mall goer in viral video". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
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