With her looming retirement, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said on Tuesday, Feb. 1 that she will bow out with honor and excellence.

Guanzon is set to retire on Feb. 2, Wednesday, the main reason she announced her vote and released her separate opinion on the case of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

In an interview on ANC, Guanzon fired back at her critics who think that she will retire with a dud because as a leader, she failed to win over her members.

"It is not my job to win them over. It is my job to make sure that the resolution is released on time so that the parties can file an appeal all the way to the Supreme Court," she said.

She added that it is not her job to convince them or to win them to her side since they are lawyers and that she considers them to be intelligent people.

Working in conspiracy

Guanzon mentioned that she released her separate opinion because she "strongly believes" that fellow Commissioner Aimee Ferolino is already "acting in conspiracy" with some people to delay her vote so that it will not be counted.

She said that she dared Commissioner Ferolino to release the resolution if she was not influenced by someone.

"If you say na di ka sinuhulan, ilabas mo ang resolusyon. Andami mo pang satsat wala ka namang sinulat (If you are saying that you were not bribed, then release the resolution. All that talk and you have not written anything)," she said.

"You have time to send a memorandum to the chair and reply to me but you don't have time to sit down for 21 days already," she added.

Guanzon said that the records are very clear, the admissions of facts are very clear and that she even gave her the transcript as well as the stenographic notes. She mentioned that anybody from any law school can write a resolution in 15 days and that she has no idea why Ferolino cannot. What Guanzon sees, according to her, is that Ferolino is under influence and she's acting in conspiracy to make sure that they defeat the former's vote.

"You know Commissioner Ferolino, lacking in experience in practice of law, was nominated and strongly supported by a senator, or at least one senator. That's already on record that she will not act like this if it's not that Senator who will order her because they're very close since they were both in Davao," she revealed.

Knocking both Guanzon and Casquejo's votes out

Guanzon said that another fellow Commissioner in the Comelec First Division, Marlon Casquejo will go to the Second Division by Feb. 3 as presiding commissioner. She believes now that the goal is to knock out both of their votes.

She mentioned that Ferolino, and whoever she is conniving with, is not sure as well if Casquejo will vote not to disqualify Marcos Jr. from running for public office that's why they are seeking to discredit both of their votes.

Guanzon also explained how her retirement may render her vote void even though she had finished her separate opinion on the case.

"In Comelec, when a presiding commissioner retires, the resolution is rewritten again for signature of the incoming presiding commissioner, so the new presiding Commissioner will vote because there was no decision as of the time of my retirement," she said.

"But I'm going to ask the incoming presiding Commissioner, though, my separate opinion remain in the records so that goes all the way up to the Supreme Court and I think she will allow that being former Justice of the Court of Appeals, because the clerk already received that officially the past few days and all the commissioners have a copy," she added.

Guanzon was referring to Commissioner Socorro Inting who will be the acting chairman of Comelec and the presiding commissioner of the first division. She added that what she will ask Inting is the best that she could do for now.

"ButI do not know if the incoming commissioner will say that my vote should be counted. I do not know," she stated.