MANILA, Philippines – Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Rowena Guanzon did not mince words when she reacted to the dismissal order written by her former colleague on a consolidated disqualification case against Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Guanzon had mandatorily retired from the poll body in early February without having resolved her public rift with Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, whom she accused of deliberately delaying the release of the ruling on the case so that Guanzon’s vote will not count.

While Guanzon made public her separate opinion and vote to disqualify Marcos Jr. before her retirement, it eventually did not matter, as the ruling was released on Thursday, February 10, or over a week after she had left the Comelec.

On a string of social media posts from Thursday night to Friday morning, February 11, Guanzon did not hold back in calling out Ferolino, the ponente or designated writer, over her “atrocious logic.”

“Ferolino’s resolution is a must-read for lawyers and non-lawyers. Atrocious logic. It is fraught with grammatical and typographical errors,” she tweeted.

Guanzon also took exception to the finding that Marcos Jr. did not commit a crime involving moral turpitude when he failed to file his income tax returns in the 1980s, when he was vice governor then governor of Ilocos Norte.

The ruling read, “The failure to file tax returns is not inherently wrong in the absence of a law punishing it. The said omission became punishable only through the enactment of the Tax Code. Moreover, even the 1977 NIRC (National Internal Revenue Code) recognizes that failure to file income tax is not a grave offense as the violation thereof may be penalized only by a fine.”

Guanzon questioned the logic in such a statement, noting that Marcos Jr. was convicted by the trial court and the Court of Appeals for his repeated non-filing of income tax returns.

“There is no law punishing non-filing of ITR? Why was BBM (Bongbong) convicted then? Ang bright-bright n’yo naman (You guys are so smart),” Guanzon added. Aside from Ferolino, Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo signed and certified the ponencia promulgated by the Comelec’s 1st Division.

Guanzon also posted a lengthy take on the 1st Division ruling on her Facebook account, saying Ferolino “chose to turn a blind eye to the circumstances surrounding Marcos Jr.’s offense.”

“Ferolino argued that Marcos Jr. did not voluntarily and intentionally violate the law. Is he stupid that he did not know that he should file an ITR? Hindi ba Oxford graduate daw siya (Didn’t he claim he graduated from Oxford?” Guanzon quipped, referring to controversies surrounding the former senator’s tertiary education.

Reporters have reached out to Ferolino’s office for a reaction, but she has yet to issue a statement as of posting time.

Ferolino has declined to grant interviews with the media since she became on the receiving end of Guanzon’s public tongue-lashing in late January, and said she wanted to maintain her “dignified silence.”

But in internal letters that leaked to the press, Ferolino was unafraid to fight back, telling Guazon she was not her subordinate, and accusing her of destroying the credibility of the Comelec.

“I am asking you to please stop conditioning the minds of the people that there is a delay because there is none,” Ferolino had told Guanzon in a January 31 letter.

Guanzon had claimed a politician was trying to influence Ferolino on the ruling, hence its delayed release, but Ferolino insisted it was due to COVID-19 setbacks, and the complexity of the Marcos case. – Rappler.com