Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Garcia (L) and Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta (R). | PHOTOS: Official Facebook pages of COMELEC and Rodante Marcoleta
MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Garcia on Thursday said the offshore accounts presented by Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta are “fake” and just used his name.
In a message to reporters, Garcia questioned the receipts and certifications presented by Marcoleta.
In a press briefing in Quezon City earlier, Marcoleta said they tapped volunteers in New York to deposit $100 to two offshore accounts, the receipts of which were traced back and supposedly yielded Garcia’s name.
“Fake po yung accounts. Tapos kabubukas lang ‘yong pinakita na pinadalhan ng 100 USD. Kahit sa local banks basta tama account number pero mali ang name ay successful pa rin transaction,” Garcia said.
(The accounts are fake. These were just opened recently, the ones where US$100 was transferred. Even in local banks, as long as you input the right account number, transactions can be successful even with wrong names.)
“Sana po panumpaan din ang akusasyon at mag-waive ng immunity,” he added.
(I hope they would make the accusations under oath and waive their immunity too.)
During the press briefing, Marcoleta was asked if he was willing to make the allegations under oath.
He said: “These are not allegations. I am now putting forward the documents showing that he has accounts in Cayman Islands, we were able to prove it, what allegations is he (Garcia) talking about? We were able to prove it, what allegations is he referring to? I am not alleging anything, I am proving that the accounts are active, they are real.”
Marcoleta was also asked why he had not brought this up to the Office of the Ombudsman. He said it is an option.
“We can do that too (filing a case), but I cannot do everything by myself. Maybe other colleagues can go to the Ombudsman, some may initiate an impeachment complaint, but for me, I want to announce first to the public about what we found out,” he added.
Marcoleta also announced that he filed House Resolution No. 1827 on Wednesday, asking appropriate panels to probe the “alleged bribery and corruption involving Comelec Chairman Garcia and Miru Systems and its local partners.”
Garcia said he has no problem with any House probe.
“Welcome po ako sa kahit anong investigation ng House of Representatives. Nag-issue po ako ng affidavit of denial at sworn waiver ng lahat ng ito noong unang press conference pa lang. Nag-iimbestiga na po ang NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) at AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) tungkol dito,” he added.
(I welcome any investigation by the House. I issued an affidavit of denial and a sworn waiver of all these bank secrecy laws since the first press conference. The NBI and the AMLC are investigating this.)
Last July 9, Marcoleta claimed that at least P1 billion worth of funds were transferred from different banks, including those based in South Korea, to 49 offshore accounts supposedly linked to a Comelec official.
Marcoleta refused to divulge the identity of the Comelec official during the previous press briefing, but later that day, Garcia said that it was him being alluded to by the lawmaker.
READ: P1-B moved from foreign banks to poll exec’s offshore accounts – Marcoleta
According to Marcoleta, there were certain developments in the poll body’s automated election system procurement when the fund transfers occurred.
Among the examples cited by Marcoleta was a money transfer done on June 22, 2023. A certain Stephen Schultz allegedly transferred $148,000 from Standard Chartered Bank Jong Ro Main Branch in South Korea, to Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
Marcoleta said it supposedly happened alongside Comelec’s declaration of the vote-counting machines as unserviceable.
READ: Comelec chief urged to clarify, address alleged bribery
Garcia said the accusations were lies, adding that he would cooperate with whatever probe that will be launched regarding the issue.
He also issued a bank secrecy waiver so that authorities could access his transactions.
READ: Comelec chair asks AMLC to investigate bribery allegations