Guanzon forcing P3PWD nominees to resign, Cardema claims; show proof, dares ex-poll exec

National Youth Commission (NYC) Undersecretary Ronald Cardema on Friday accused former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Rowena Guanzon of forcing all P3PWD party-list nominees to resign so she can be a substitute.

"Pinupuwersa mo 'yung mga nominees mo na magdeklara na patay na sila o incapacitated sila para maka-substitute ka. Kalokohan ng batas, di ba?” Cardema said during the Pandesal Forum.

(You are forcing your nominees to declare themselves dead or incapacitated so you can substitute for them. That’s absurdity, right?)

Cardema pointed out that substitutions are only allowed until election day, which he said is a rule Guanzon herself created during her stint at the Comelec.  

According to NYC official, he learned of this when one of the nominees reached out to him asking for help.

Cardema said he was shown screenshots of Guanzon's supposed messages asking for the resignation of the nominees and their removal from the party-list's Viber group. He said the nominees were afraid of Guanzon considering her popularity in social media.

No evidence

Guanzon, in response, challenged Cardema to present to her the nominees she is allegedly coercing to resign. She said such complaint should be lodged with the Comelec and not with Cardema.

"Who gave you the authority, Cardema, to speak for these, your so-called... the person that you alleged that I am coercing. Puro ka naman kyaw-kyaw wala ka naman ebidensya. Iharap mo. Iharap mo yung nagrereklamo," Guanzon said in a virtual press conference.

(Who gave you the authority, Cardema, to speak for this person that you alleged that I am coercing. You are all talk. Show us evidence. Name them and show us the person who is complaining.)

Guanzon said Cardema has no businesses meddling with P3PWD's affairs.

The feisty former Comelec commissioner also defended herself from accusation that she is seeking a congressional seat by taking the place of P3PWD nominees.

"Everything is speculative.  When it happens, it is just going to happen," she said.

Honorable nominees

At the latter part of her press conference, Guanzon said P3PWD nominees are "honorable and highly educated" women.

"'Wag po kayo mag-alala. Kahit sino naman ang umupo diyan ay karapat-dapat siya sa aming katungkulan at adbokasiya [Don't worry. Whoever sits there is worthy to be a representative and to push for our advocacy]," she said.

"Kung ako man po ang uupo diyan, karangalan ko po kung piliin nila ako at gagawin namin ang aming makakaya sa loob ng tatlong taon [It would be an honor if I will be chosen to sit there and we will do whatever we can within three years]," she added.

Guanzon explained that once a certification of proclamation is issued by the Comelec to the party-list, the party-list can decide who will be their representative if all the nominees resigned and the group submitted a new list to the poll body.

'Fraudulent' registration?

Meanwhile, during the Pandesal Forum, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio said his legal team will study the possibility of asking for the cancelation of P3PWD's registration considering that it was approved while Guanzon was still a Comelec commissioner.

"Ipaaral ko sa aking legal team kung puwedeng i-cancel yung [I will let my legal team study if we can seek for the cancellation of the] registration of P3PWD on the ground that it was secured through fraud," he said.

According to him, the party-list was registered because of a commissioner's "premeditated plan" to be its nominee.

"That is fraud. That is also illegal under the spirit of the Constitution," Topacio said.

Guanzon, in response, brushed this off, saying Topacio has an "axe to grind" against her over the unjust vexation case that she filed against him.

"Obviously this is just all for show," she said.

Due to this continuous efforts to "malign and vex" her, Guanzon said she will file a disbarment case against Topacio.

Topacio has filed complaints against Guanzon before the Ombudsman over alleged violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act after she disclosed the deliberation of Comelec commissioners on the disqualification cases against now President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Guanzon vs. Cardema

Aside from the P3PWD, Cardema also linked Guanzon to another congressman whom he refused to identify, further accusing the retired poll commissioner of gaming the party-list system.

The poll commissioner, however, fired back at saying Cardema was also "gaming" the party-list system when he tried twice to insist that he was the first nominee of Duterte Youth.

In 2019, Cardema, then-34, was disqualified by the Comelec for being overaged. Youth party-list representatives must be 25 to 30 years old on election day.

Regarding Cardema's challenge to a debate, Guanzon said she must be dared to a "duel" instead since Cardema is neither a college graduate nor a lawyer. —KBK, GMA News