Comelec chief eyes lawsuit vs accusers

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia is looking at slapping a criminal complaint against those behind what he describes as a demolition job against him and the Comelec.

Garcia yesterday said he is considering filing cases of falsification of public and private documents against those trying to ruin his name by claiming he owns some P1 billion in foreign accounts.

Falsification of documents is a criminal case that provides longer penalty of imprisonment.

Garcia said he would again issue a waiver to allow investigators to verify the bank accounts he supposedly owns.

He noted that the document he obtained from former Caloocan congressman Edgar Erice was spurious and fake.

“If it’s really from various banks, it should be different, it should even have a logo. That means fake, spurious and falsified documents,” Garcia pointed out.

The Comelec chief denied that he owned those fictitious foreign and local bank accounts allegedly containing bribe money from technology provider Miru Systems.

“And the good thing about this, because someone has come out who said that it was from him, but was sent from abroad, is that at least I have a way to protect my name and rights and integrity,” he told reporters.

“I now know who to file a case (against), if ever. The only purpose for now is to be able to verify all these documents,” he added.

Garcia expressed suspicion that a big group is behind the demolition job against the Comelec.

“Earlier, I told our colleagues in the entire commission that we will not agree, I am not the only one, but the entire commission is being treated like this. We are a constitutional body. We should not be treated like this when the integrity of our election is at stake here,” he said as he stressed the reason for his decision to pursue charges against his accusers.

He added that the documents presented by Erice are part of the grand plan to malign his name and the entire Comelec as well as influence the pending case before the Supreme Court against the poll body and Miru.

The demolition job will not stop soon and more false accusations are expected to be peddled against him and other Comelec members, according to Garcia.

Erice went to the Comelec’s main office in Intramuros yesterday to present the letter requesting Garcia to order an investigation into the alleged $15 million worth of bank accounts of a poll official in the Bahamas.

Erice attached to the letter the list of 14 Bahamas bank accounts allegedly containing bribe money from technology provider Miru Systems.

“If he is really taking responsibility, then he should show it, then deny those accounts one by one,” Erice told reporters. “So Congress should already intervene here.”

The former lawmaker said that he received copies of the supposed Bahamas bank accounts from an anonymous sender.

“It should be investigated because it is scary that a Comelec official is accepting money from Miru,” he added.

Erice asserted that it is up to Garcia how he would handle the document that the former congressman presented, at the same time disclosing that the same will be sent to the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Garcia previously asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to look into the alleged offshore accounts that he allegedly owns.

Erice, however, said the AMLC is not the proper body to investigate the foreign accounts.

He added that he is not aware whether the 14 Bahamas accounts are part of the 49 foreign accounts previously exposed by SAGIP party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta.

The foreign accounts shall be verified first before he files graft charges against the poll official involved, according to Erice.

He denied that his accusations against Garcia are part of an ongoing demolition job against the Comelec following its disqualification of Smartmatic as automated election service provider.

Erice insisted that the poll body violated the rules and must nullify the contract with Miru.

‘Non-existent’

The Land Bank of the Philippines Intramuros branch has issued a certification that the personal account cited in the document submitted by Erice as among those owned by Garcia is “non-existent.”

Landbank issued the certification upon Garcia’s request to prove that the allegations being peddled against him are mere malicious fabrications.

“It does not exist, there is no such account, which means that it is spurious, but it is attached to the documents that we received,” he said.

Aside from Landbank, Metrobank also issued a certification that the account allegedly under Garcia’s name does not exist.

The Comelec chief lamented that he is the one gathering evidence that the accusations against him were false when it is the responsibility of those accusing him to provide proof to justify their allegations.

Garcia said he is initiating steps to disprove the allegations to protect the Comelec’s integrity.

He added that he would wait for the results of the NBI’s probe, and if proven that the allegations against him are fake, he would file charges against those behind the demolition job against the Comelec. — Delon Porcalla