MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker has hoped that the House of Representatives’ impeachment powers would not be abused amid rumors that a complaint will be filed against Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Erwin Garcia.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ang Probinsyano party-list Rep. Alfred delos Santos said he has not seen any impeachment complaint against Garcia, but he hopes any complaint would be accompanied by substantial evidence —and would not be borne out of personal interests.
“We have not seen a complaint because it has not been filed. And of course, in case such is filed with Congress, the impeachment complaint would go through processes. But we have to remember that impeachment is not an ordinary procedure,” Delos Santos said.
READ: Comelec chair Garcia bares ‘plot’ to impeach, discredit poll execs
“There has to be enough evidence, and not mere allegations. Another thing, the processes of Congress should not be used for personal interest. It is not a joke to remove a Comelec Chair. The impeachment of a Comelec Chair is a question to the credibility of an election,” he added.
Delos Santos believes there is no basis in filing an impeachment complaint against Garcia.
READ: P1-B moved from foreign banks to poll exec’s offshore accounts – Marcoleta
“But is there really a basis? Chair Garcia has worked hard in the past years to ensure the integrity of the elections. We saw his dedication to the electorate during the successful 2023 barangay elections. He has initiated so many programs to ensure that the election would not be tainted by evil and fraud,” he noted.
Plot to impeach Garcia
It was Garcia himself who bared last July 2024 that there is supposedly a plot to impeach him and discredit the Comelec, adding that the complaint would be about allegations that he accepted bribes from foreign banks, including banks based in South Korea.
Garcia’s claims came after Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta revealed last July 9 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.
Miru Systems, one of the main players in the consortium that bagged the contract for Comelec’s automated election system (AES), hails from South Korea.
Marcoleta refused to divulge the identity of the Comelec official and his or her ranking, but later in the day, Garcia said that it was him being referred to by the lawmaker.
According to Marcoleta, there were certain developments in the poll body’s AES procurement when fund transfers occurred, like a money transfer on June 22, 2023, where a deposit worth $148,000 was made by a certain Stephen Schultz/Kyong Baek from Standard Chartered Bank and Jong Ro Main Branch in South Korea, to Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
This supposedly happened alongside Comelec’s declaration of the past vote counting machines (VCMs) as unserviceable.
Potential holes
Garcia however noted several potential holes in Marcoleta’s claims, noting that he replicated the bank transfers cited by the lawmaker and sent them to an account named “Batman”—a transaction that went through even if they named the recipient as the famous comic book character.
Aside from that, Garcia also noted that Marcoleta’s proof—showing that a volunteer transferred funds to an alleged offshore account owned by the Comelec chief—was done by a public relations firm based in the United States.
READ: Garcia sees holes in Marcoleta’s claims: Bank transfers done by PR firm
According to delos Santos, Garcia has repeatedly said that he is prepared to face any complaint that would be filed against him.
“The Comelec has been very transparent from the start, that’s why we believe the credibility of the Chairperson and the entire poll body,” he added.
Issues surrounding Garcia appeared to stem from Comelec’s decision to tap Miru for its AES. Last April 18, former Caloocan 2nd District lawmaker Edgar Erice asked the Supreme Court to stop Comelec from implementing its P17.9 billion contract with Miru.
According to Erice, the contract violates Republic Act No. 9369 or the Automated Election Law, because Miru will be trying a hybrid system which has supposedly never been done in another country before.