Marcoleta: Isang option ni Garcia ang mag-resign

“ISANG option ni Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia ang mag-resign,” ito ang sagot ni SAGIP Party-List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta sa tanong ng isang reporter sa isinagawang press conference sa Seda Hotel sa Quezon City kahapon.

Nag-ugat ito sa mga ebidensiyang nakalap ni Marcoleta na tumanggap si Garcia ng bribe money sa halagang P120 million mula Miru Systems Co. Ltd.

“The burden has now shifted to Garcia, for the Comelec Chairman to prove these solid pieces of evidence wrong, if he can,” sabi ni Marcoleta.

Nanawagan din ang veteran lawyer-lawmaker sa kanyang mga kasamahan sa House of Representatives na agad imbestigahan ang corruption scandal ang nanganganib na madungisang kredibilidad ng 2025 midterm elections. “The Comelec Chairman himself committing plunder, an offense that is both impeachable and criminal.”

“This is very conclusive,” Marcoleta said of the pieces of evidence he presented against Garcia. “No one can say this is merely an allegation because we have already verified his offshore bank accounts.”

Inihain ni Marcoleta ang House Resolution No. 1827, na humihiling sa House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms at iba pang appropriate committees na magsagawa ng imbestigasyon, in aid of legislation, sa ginawa umanong deposito sa ilang offshore accounts ni Garcia ng ilang konektado sa Miru sa P18-billion contract na iginawad ng Comelec sa kontrobersyal na South Korean firm na kinolekta at bilangin ang mga boto sa susunod na national and local polls.

“Comelec Chairman Garcia must be made accountable. Let’s protect the integrity of our votes next year,” according to Marcoleta.

Matatandaang hindi pinangalanan ni Marcoleta ang ranking Comelec official sa nauna niyang pasabog sa Miru bribery scandal noong July 9, subalit kaagad na lumabas si Garcia sa publiko at pinabulaanan ang alegasyon ng mambabatas.

“After Chairman Garcia challenged me to show proof, my team and I spent resources and time to track his offshore bank accounts. We then found 49 accounts opened only in 2022 and last year, registered in the Cayman Islands, China, Hong Kong, North America and Singapore — all traceable to him,” pahayag ni Marcoleta.

Ang 49 offshore bank accounts ay naglalaman ng kabuuang US$15.2 million (almost P1 billion), of which at least US$2.1 million or approximately P120 million were deposited by persons affiliated to Miru from June of last year until March this year. Marcoleta stressed that the bribe money allegedly received by Garcia breached the P75-million threshold of Republic Act (RA) No. 7080, which defines plunder.

Sinimulang ipinasarado ang 22 foreign bank accounts noong huling Linggo ng June, nakapag-deposito pa ng salapi sa dalawang Cayman Island account ang isang thrid-party.

“We have proof to show that the deposits were successfully made to two offshore bank accounts under the name of George Erwin Mojica Garcia — the Comelec Chairman himself, who previously denied owning any such account,” paliwanag pa ni Marcoleta.