Imee Marcos: Comelec may face technical malversation if P12B funds used for Cha-cha

Senator Imee Marcos on Thursday warned the Commission on Elections (Comelec) about facing technical malversation if the poll body will use its P12 billion additional budget for efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution.

While Marcos confirmed that Comelec did request additional funding for personnel and building payments, she said the poll body did not mention any spending for any plebiscite.

"Hindi na ito pang opisina at pang empleyado kundi pang-charter change. Bakit ganon? Hindi naman yata pwedeng palitan ang purpose ang pagkaintindi ko technical malversation kapag binago bago mo ang purpose,” Marcos said in an interview on dzBB.

(This will no longer be used for the Comelec offices and employees but for charter change. It is not allowed to change the purpose of the funds. In my understanding, that's technical malversation.)

Comelec Chairman George Garcia on Wednesday, however, said that the additional fund is "definitely" not related to Charter change. 

“In the first place, nung binigay po 'yan wala naman 'yung mga alingasngas tungkol sa people’s initiative [PI],” Garcia said.

(In the first place, there was no news of PI when it was given to us.)

Sen. Marcos, who sponsored the 2024 budget of the poll body in the Senate, blamed the issue on the bicameral meetings.

“Ang problema kasi ang bicameral meetings namin nagiging photo [opportunity] lang. Hindi na nababasa nang todo todo do’n sa micro micro bicam na sila sila lang ang naguusap. ‘Yan ang masaklap e. Nagkaka-onsehan. Nakakanerbyos ‘to,” she went on.

(The problem here is that the bicameral meetings are just a photo opportunity. We were not able to monitor the discussions on what will be the final composition of the budget because of the micro bicam that is being formed. That's where the problem lies. This is worrisome.)

It was Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman who earlier claimed that there was a P14 billion allocation for the conduct and supervision of elections, referenda, recall votes and plebiscites under the 2024 budget of the Comelec and P12 billion of was inserted during the bicameral conference committee deliberations.

House Committee on Appropriations chair Zaldy Co of Ako Bicol party-list, however, clarified that the P12 billion increase was requested by Comelec, not the lawmakers.

Lagman’s accusation on the alleged insertion in Comelec’s budget came after he and Kabataan party-list lawmaker Raoul Manuel claimed that there were some politicians who are paying P100 pesos in exchange of a person’s signature for the people’s initiative campaign in a bid to revise the 1987 Constitution. —VAL, GMA Integrated News