Garcia says Marcoleta could be misinformed amid bribery claims 

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Garcia said on Monday that his "friend," SAGIP party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta could have been misinformed following the bribery allegations against him. 

Garcia said during an online interview with reporters that he has nothing but praise for Marcoleta. 

“Lagi po akong nagbibigay ng presumption of regularity, presumption of innocence. Napakabuti naman po ng aking pagtingin kay Congressman Marcoleta. Isang matapat na kaibigan po ‘yan at naging kliyente ko ‘yan. Wala po akong masasabing masama sa kanya. Talagang maari lang ito ay misinformed lang at misappreciation of facts,” he said. 

(I always give a presumption of regularity, presumption of innocence. I see Congressman Marcoleta as a nice guy. He’s a loyal friend and he was also a former client of mine. I have nothing bad to say about him. Maybe he could only be misinformed and had a misappreciation of facts.) 

“Ang akin lang po sana, baka pwede matingnan mabuti, ma-review po muli mabuti. At alam na alam ko po na kilala ako ni Congressman Marcoleta ang buo kong pagkatao.” (Maybe he could review everything again. I’m very confident that Congress Marcoleta knows me very well.) 

Marcoleta previously questioned the awarding of the P18-billion automated election contract to a joint venture led by South Korean firm Miru Systems by the Comelec amid the alleged existence of 49 offshore bank accounts that received money from South Korean banks.

The lawmaker also linked Garcia to two offshore bank accounts in the Cayman Islands which allegedly received deposits from South Korean banks. 

Marcoleta filed a resolution seeking a congressional probe into the matter, which Garcia welcomed. 

Further, the poll body official said that he is open to having a dialogue with Marcoleta to clear things up. 

“Anytime po ako, hindi naman po tayo ipokrito o hindi tayo masyadong mapagmataas. Willing po ako makipagusap sa kahit na kanino dahil sa bandang huli, kinakailangan na magpaliwanagan,” said Garcia. 

(I’m willing to talk to anyone anytime.  We are not hypocrites or prideful. What's important is to clarify matters.) 

Garcia earlier said he was eyeing filing charges against individuals behind the alleged demolition job.

He said over the weekend that he would seek help from the United States Department of Justice to investigate the people behind the alleged foreign bank accounts. 

“Yun pong sulat natin sa US DOJ, kahit na indirect request muna at hindi yung mismong formal na request na gagawin sa DFA, ay ating maaring maiparating na sa kanila,” said Garcia in the online interview. 

(With regards to our letter to the US DOJ, I think it would be fine to send just even an indirect request instead of the formal request to be sent by the DFA.)  

“Pero gagawin na rin natin ang ating liham sa atin pong DFA… Para kahit paano gumulong naman yung prosesong legal base sa ating mutual legal assistance treaty. Sapagkat alam niyo po kinakailangan yung puno’t dulo nito,” he added. 

(But we are already working on our letter with the DFA…So that the legal process starts rolling under the mutual legal assistance treaty. It’s very important that we find out how this issue started.) 

Marcoleta welcomed Garcia's move to seek assistance from the US agency as it would hasten the investigation of the foreign bank accounts allegedly linked to the Comelec official. 

"Nakakalungkot lang na ang mga tanong tungkol sa kontrobersyal na pag-procure sa serbisyo at makina ng Miru ay nanatiling walang sagot hanggang sa ngayon dahil sa mga accounts na lang umiikot ang usapin," he said in a statement. 

(It's just disappointing that the questions on the controversial procurement of the service and the machines of Miru remain unanswered because the discussion only revolves around the accounts.) —LDF, GMA Integrated News