COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Tuesday said allegations by Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta that he owns 49 offshore accounts in 18 banks were part of a systemic demolition campaign to destroy his credibility and that of the poll body in general.

Garcia said that even if Marcoleta did not identify him as the owner of these accounts, he knew for sure that he was the one being referred to as he had been warned that a demolition job was in the works.

"Allegedly, I have lots of foreign accounts. But in truth and in fact, I don't have a foreign account. I have already formally asked the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to investigate the matter and identify who is behind it," Garcia said in Filipino.

"It's part of the plan that we uncover. In my letter, I requested the NBI to investigate who is spreading that, investigate if the allegations against me are true, and three, I issue a waiver on all the alleged accounts that are on the list," he added.

Garcia pointed out that to make such deposits and own properties abroad, like in the United States and South Korea, among other countries, one has to travel to the said countries, adding that he only has visas for Japan and South Korea, which he and other Comelec officials visited to inspect the production of the automated counting machines (ACMs) at the manufacturing plant of MIRU Systems.

"In my whole life I have not been to the US," he said, adding that the allegations were malicious and citing an earlier press conference in which Marcoleta admitted that the allegations were not verified.

Garcia said he did not enter public service because of money because he had been earning well in his practice before he accepted the top Comelec post, adding that Marcoleta knew that because the lawmaker once consulted him, and he did not charge him a single centavo in attorney's fees.

He said he respected Marcoleta, but he should verify statements before he makes them.

Garcia said that the Comelec under him has always been transparent, and it's unfair to the men and women of the institution to destroy the poll body's credibility and integrity by maligning his person through baseless, unfounded and unverified allegations.

"It's not my personality. We were raised simply by my father and mother who were both in public service for 35 years. My father is a soldier, and my mother is a teacher. They retired clean and did nothing that would destroy our family name," he said.

Asked who was behind the demolition campaign, Garcia said it was best to ask Marcoleta and other figures who were strongly opposed to the winning bidder of the ACMS.

"I know who is behind all this. I hope they don't try to stop me from telling what I know," he said in Filipino. "Let's not wreck the credibility of the election. It's the country that will suffer."

Garcia said there was a pending case before the Supreme Court relative to the awarding of the contract to the joint venture of Miru Systems, stressing that whatever the Court decides the Comelec will comply, as it did when it said the poll body's former IT provider, Smartmatic, should not have been disqualified from the bidding.

Garcia pointed out that South Korea, like the US, has a very stringent money laundering law, and one can't just simply open an account there. He added that there was no bribery case against MIRU.

Marcoleta in a press briefing on Tuesday said the reported deposits were made between June 22, 2023 and March 22, 2024 and amounted to at least $2.1 million or over P120 million.

The offshore bank accounts "are traceable to one Comelec official," Marcoleta said but added that verification of the offshore accounts was ongoing.

"We don't want to divulge the name [of the Comelec official involved] because it's unfair to divulge the name while we are still in the process of verifying this," he said.

The presentation showed details of the reported deposits in a timeline for the award of the automated election system contract for the May 2025 elections.

The Comelec had awarded the leasing contract for automated counting machines to the joint venture that included Miru Systems of South Korea.

On Tuesday, Miru reiterated its commitment to an honest, efficient and fair 2025 elections.

"Miru stays 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," it said.

"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 [we] will continue to show transparency as we move forward with our responsibility for the upcoming election," it said.

Read The Rest at :