Marcoleta claims offshore accounts linked to poll exec received P1B; Comelec denies

A lawmaker has questioned the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) awarding of the P18-billion automated election contract to a joint venture including Korean firm Miru, amid the alleged existence of 49 offshore bank accounts which received money from South Korean banks.

In a press conference on Tuesday, SAGIP party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta alleged that the Comelec's decisions during the bidding process up to the awarding of the contract to Miru firm coincided with deposits made to the offshore accounts that he said are apparently linked to a Comelec official.

These "milestones," as Marcoleta dubbed them, included the disqualification of Smartmatic in the bidding process by the Comelec en banc despite the advice of its legal department.

"Are we assured of the integrity of our elections here? This is worth P18 billion. This is a pressing issue. This is a valid question," Marcoleta said.

"The Comelec should not keep silent. They should come clean. There are indications [that these can be linked to a Comelec official] based on what we have gathered so far," he added.

Marcoleta did not name the Comelec official allegedly linked to the offshore accounts.

Marcoleta, who said the 49 offshore bank accounts received as much as P1 billion, then said the Comelec should take it a step further by waiving bank secrecy to put suspicions to rest. 

"Are the Comelec officials willing to issue a waiver so that this representation and my team can verify this faster?" he said.

"We are continuing the verification of these 49 accounts," he added.

Garcia denies allegations

Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said he is the official Marcoleta was alluding to but denied the accusations hurled against him. He also junked allegations that he owned foreign bank accounts as well as properties abroad. 

“'Wag ninyo na po isipin kung sino ang opisyal na binabanggit dahil baka maghinala kayo. Ako po ang nire-refer doon (He was referring to me),” Garcia told reporters.

“Wala po akong kahit anong foreign account o kahit anong bahay o property o lupa sa kahit anong foreign lands. Ang lahat ng akin kung meron man, nandito sa Pilipinas sapagkat hindi naman ako umaalis ng ating bansa,” he added. 

(I don’t have any foreign accounts or properties. My properties were all here in the country.)

Garcia also said he sent a letter to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) asking the agency to investigate the accusations. He said he issued a waiver on the alleged bank accounts.

“Alam po namin sino ang nasa likod ng lahat ng ‘yan. 'Wag po sana nila akong pigilan na sabihin din ang mga nalalaman ko. 'Wag  nila akong i-compel na sabihin ang nalalaman ko. 'Wag po sana natin sirain ang kredibilidad ng eleksyon,” he added. 

(We know who is behind it. I hope they would not compel me when I say what I know. We hope they won’t ruin the credibility of next year’s polls.)

Miru 

Meanwhile, Miru said it remains “focused on delivering the best possible automated system that will fit the needs of the Filipino people amid false allegations that have recently been circulated among the media”.

“We have always acted in good faith and have proven the quality of both the machines themselves and our capacity to deliver all requirements on time through several public demonstrations, and will continue to show transparency as we move forward with our responsibility for the upcoming election,” it said.—KBK/AOL, GMA Integrated News