Comelec official gets threats; Duterte Youth eyed

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said yesterday she has been getting threatening text messages she believes to be coming from Duterte Youth party-list group.

“I received this text, ‘Kapag inipit mo pa din kame at di pa din kame nakaupo ilalabas namin part 2 ng series mo at papakasohan ka pa namen.’ Who do you think sent this? Obviously,”  she posted on Twitter. The sender threatened to file charges against Guanzon and air the second part of an apparent exposé against her.

Guanzon said it was the second time that she received threatening messages, apparently coming from the same group of people.

She said the Duterte Youth and Senior Citizens Coalition are the only party-list groups that have yet to receive a certification of proclamation with the names of nominees due to pending petitions.

Guanzon earlier said the Comelec will not issue a certificate of proclamation to the Duterte Youth until they resolve disqualification case against the group’s first nominee, Ronald Cardema.

“Analyze the language and style. It is hardly the work of old people,”  Guanzon pointed out.

Although she is against the nomination of Cardema, the poll official said, she is not the ponente or the one writing the decision in the case.

“But their smear campaign against me will not sit well with the commissioners,” Guanzon added.

Guanzon said she decided to expose the threats made against her to defend the Comelec’s independence.

“When they attack a commissioner with the intent to threaten to destroy our reputation, they are attacking our integrity,” she said.

The Comelec First Division is expected to come out soon with its decision on the disqualification case against Cardema.