Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Erwin Garcia
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Erwin Garcia on Thursday called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and leaders in Congress to stop what he called “foreign intervention” in the country’s electoral process.
In a press conference at the Comelec central office in Manila, Garcia hinted that the poll body’s former automated election systems (AES) service provider, Smartmatic, may have something to do with the “demolition job” against him and Comelec.
Garcia asked Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senate President Francis Escudero “not [to] allow our offices and institutions to be used in sowing lies, accusing people and ruining the reputation of others.”He also asked for help from the President “so that these persons and entities like these will not prevail in our society [because] … this is a threat to our democracy and interference of a foreign entity in our elections.”
Legal recourse
Sagip party list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta earlier accused Garcia of receiving billions of pesos in bribes through more than 50 local and overseas bank accounts to favor Comelec’s new AES service provider, Miru Systems Co. Ltd.Smartmatic earlier sued the poll body before the Supreme Court after it was disqualified to bid for the AES while a former congressman petitioned the high tribunal to nullify Comelec’s P17.9-billion contract with Miru.
READ: Comelec chief to Marcos: Don’t let foreign entities disrupt PH elections
Garcia has repeatedly denied the accusations and even executed waivers of bank secrecy over the supposed bank accounts in favor of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
He also obtained certifications from the local banks identified by Marcoleta that showed he had no accounts with them.
As for other foreign bank accounts that he supposedly maintained, Garcia said they were either fake or were made to appear as if he were the owner. He said the purported transaction documents were tampered with to make it seem that cash deposits were made to him.
According to the Comelec chief, he will wait for the findings of the NBI and AMLC before initiating legal proceedings against those responsible for the accusations against him.
He said the poll body would work together to help truth prevail, while the groups and entities that use lies and disinformation to tarnish the integrity of the country’s electoral process would be held accountable.