Marcoleta links Comelec's Garcia to offshore accounts in Cayman Islands

A lawmaker on Thursday linked Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia to two offshore bank accounts in Cayman Islands which allegedly received deposits from South Korean banks.

Sagip party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta said that he and his team were able to verify that the two offshore accounts belong to Garcia by depositing money and asking for a bank receipt, which allegedly yielded the latter's name.

"These [documents] cannot be just plainly denied. The burden of proof shifted to him (Garcia) already," Marcoleta said in a press conference.

Marcoleta then said the development makes the awarding of the P18-billion automated election contract to the joint venture led by the South Korean firm Miru suspicious. 

"He should explain this. We can't sacrifice our elections. Let me reiterate: the Comelec has enough time to scrap its deal with Miru, as it can use the over 93,000 vote-counting machines (VCMs) it had acquired from Smartmatic for previous automated elections. These VCMs are still serviceable and covered by warranty and provision of spare parts until 2025," the lawmaker added.

Marcoleta also said that the 22 offshore accounts that received deposits from South Korean banks suddenly closed within the last two months.

"Ako lang ba ang nababahala rito (Am I the only one alarmed over this)?" he said.

"The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) can now come to me. I will show the pieces of evidence to them; that this isn’t merely a baseless and defamatory demolition job, as the Comelec chairman alleges," he added.

Marcoleta said that Garcia should resign if he fails to explain himself in connection with the offshore accounts, adding that betrayal of public trust, bribery, graft, and corruption have no place in the Comelec.

"Comelec Chairman Garcia must be made accountable. Let's protect the integrity of our votes next year," Marcoleta said.

He earlier linked Garcia to offshore accounts amounting to as much as P1 billion which the latter denied. He likewise requested the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the investigation and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to formally investigate the accusations. 

Marcoleta said he filed a resolution Wednesday seeking a congressional probe into the matter.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Garcia welcomed the possible congressional investigation as he denied the bribery accusations anew. 

“Napakaganda na magkaroon ng pagdinig ang ating Mababang Kapulungan…mas maganda 'yun kasi ang problem kasi public opinion ang dating (It is good that the House will conduct an inquiry on the matter),'' Garcia said.

“Maghihintay ako at freely, a-attend ako (I will wait and I will freely attend the hearing),” he said.

At least six local banks have issued certifications the bank accounts reportedly involved in the bribery accusations were non-existent. 

“Kinu-kumpara namin sa nakuha nating listahan at 'yung binanggit nung last presscon, iba ang numbers na nandyan at numbers na binanggit. Ibig sabihin, either bagong account 'yan o account 'yan ng ibang tao na pangalan ko ang nilagay,” said Garcia. 

(We compared the bank account numbers on the ones they presented earlier, they were different. This means, the bank accounts were either new or were owned by another person. It may happen. You can deposit money to a bank account and indicate a different name.)

“Ang hindi naipakita...nasaan ang confirmation na tinanggap ang mismong pinadala na $100? Ang confirmation usually isa, dalawang araw, minsan tatlong araw pa bago i-confirm kung tinanggap o hindi,” he added. 

(What they failed to present is the confirmation that the $100 was received. It usually takes one to three days for a bank to issue confirmations.)

Garcia also stood firm that he would not resign over the bribery allegations. 

“Kung ganon po pala ang polisiya at panuntunan sa pamahalaan, lahat na lang aakusahan, lahat na lang magre-resign…Parang napakahirap naman na magreresign ka dahil sa tsismis, dahil sa fake news, at misinformation at disinformation,” he said.

“Napatunayan ko na fake ang mga accounts, galing na po mismo sa mga local banks,” he added.

(If that’s the policy then all officials that will be accused will resign. It’s difficult to step down from my post because of rumors, fake news, misinformation and disinformation. We have proven that the accounts were fake, that information is from the local banks.)

The poll body chief earlier said he was eyeing filing charges against individuals behind the alleged demolition job.—with a report from Sundy Locus/AOL/VBL, GMA Integrated News