THE ROLEX RAGE: EX-COMELEC COMMISSIONER ROWENA GUANZON’S EXPLOSIVE MALL SHOWDOWN WITH CHINESE NATIONAL OVER A COUGH—AND THE LAWYER’S SHAMEFUL ESCAPE 💥⚖️

THE COUGH THAT SPARKED A CONFRONTATION: INJUSTICE IN MAKATI

The normally serene atmosphere of a prominent Makati City mall was violently shattered over the weekend, becoming the stage for an explosive confrontation involving former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Commissioner and vocal activist, Atty. Rowena Guanzon. The incident, captured on viral video, stemmed from a simple, yet incendiary act: Guanzon’s cough, and the immediate, aggressive reaction of a Chinese national.

Guanzon admitted she coughed due to an irritated throat, but was wearing no face mask. The Chinese national allegedly confronted her, telling her to “leave the mall” because she might be contagious.

Guanzon, known for her ferocious defense of perceived injustice, immediately snapped.

“I told him he had no right to order me to leave a public space… If he was sick or afraid of getting sick, he shouldn’t be in the mall.”

The exchange escalated rapidly, pushing Guanzon’s blood pressure so high that paramedics reportedly had to intervene due to her health condition—a stark measure of the emotional intensity of the moment.

THE ROLEX INSULT: A CLASS WARFARE FLARE-UP

The incident quickly devolved from a public health dispute into a shocking display of alleged class arrogance and xenophobia. Guanzon claimed the Chinese national refused her apology and instead “looked at her from head to toe.” This perceived gesture of condescension sent Guanzon into a rage.

Guanzon publicly recounted her fiery verbal retaliation:

“I shouted at him, ‘You don’t even wear a Rolex or a Gucci, you class snob!’… He thinks he’s a boss to order me around. A pretentious snob who isn’t even rich. His name is Chong.”

This calculated, sensational insult—invoking luxury brands as a weapon against perceived “matapobre” (class-snob) behavior—transformed the encounter into a national talking point about foreign disrespect and social hierarchy in the Philippines. Guanzon felt deeply humiliated and insisted she would never tolerate such “injustice,” especially when directed at a Filipino in their own country.

THE LEGAL VINDICATION: UNJUST VEXATION AND THE SHAMEFUL ESCAPE

Guanzon immediately followed through, filing a criminal complaint at the Makati Central Police Station against the Chinese national for Unjust Vexation and Grave Oral Defamation.

During the processing of the case, a shocking detail emerged that turned the legal proceedings into its own scandal:

When the Chinese national was about to be read his Miranda Rights, his own legal counsel allegedly intervened and helped him flee the police station.

“What was shocking was that when the Chinese National was about to be read his Miranda Rights, he suddenly fled, and his own lawyer was the one who facilitated it… Attorneys, would you do that? That is against our code of conduct as lawyers!”

This accusation of professional misconduct against the Chinese national’s lawyer—a direct violation of the sanctity of the legal process—adds a sensational layer of high-stakes drama and alleged ethical breach to the already viral incident. Guanzon’s legal actions revealed that the couple was not Makati residents, further fueling her belief that they were outsiders acting with unwarranted arrogance.

THE PADILLA DEFENSE AND THE TROLL WAR

While some criticized Guanzon’s behavior in the mall, suggesting she should have remained calm, she received a prominent and powerful defender: Senator Robin Padilla.

Padilla fiercely defended Guanzon, framing her confrontation as a patriotic act:

“Attorney Guanzon defended the rights of every Filipino. No foreigner can throw any Filipino out of any place in his own country, cough or not… That foreigner should be thankful he wasn’t mobbed for his arrogance in confronting a senior citizen.”

Padilla then launched a scathing attack on online trolls, accusing them of siding with the Chinese national even as they criticize China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea. The incident, therefore, became a proxy war, with Guanzon and Padilla drawing a line in the sand against any perceived insolence from foreign nationals on Philippine soil.

Guanzon, a veteran politician and activist known for her uncompromising stance against corruption and injustice—a legacy forged under Presidents Aquino and Duterte—declared that her actions were not about the man’s nationality, but about the principle of being belittled. Her final message was a promise: “I will not choose a place when I see what is right. I will explode.”

The Rolex Rage in the Makati Mall has confirmed Atty. Rowena Guanzon’s status as the nation’s most ferocious defender of self-respect, cementing her refusal to be silent, even if it means risking her health and igniting a national debate over class, respect, and who truly owns the public spaces in the Philippines.