Garcia belies Marcoleta’s accusations linking him to offshore accounts

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Garcia on Tuesday denied Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta’s accusations linking him to offshore accounts.

On Tuesday, Marcoleta claimed that at least P1 billion worth of funds were transferred from South Korean-based banks to 49 offshore accounts supposedly linked to Garcia.

“Sa totoo po wala po ako ni isang foreign account (Honestly, I do not have even one foreign account),” Garcia told reporters in an ambush interview.

The Comelec head said the poll body had already reached out to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate who is spreading false information about him.

“[Nag-request ako sa NBI baka pwedeng imbestigahan] yung mga akusasyon laban sakin (I already requested the NBI to investigate the accusations against me),” he continued.

“Nag-issue rin ako ng waiver sa lahat ng alleged accounts na nandoon sa listahan kung akin yun (I also issued a waiver for all the alleged accounts on the list, if they are really mine),” he added.

Garcia labeled Marcoleta’s accusations as “malicious” and baseless.

“Kahit naman po hindi verified, the fact na sinabi yun, syempre masisira ang kredibilidad ng Commission on Elections. Okay lang kung ako yun, tatanggapin ko na. Part yun ng pagiging public servant (Even though it’s not verified, the fact that he said it, of course it will besmirch the credibility of Comelec. It’s okay if it’s just me, I will accept it; it’s part of being a public servant),” he continued.

“Pero wag naman po sana yung institusyon kasi pinaghihirapan ng maraming tao ang aming pangalan (Just don’t drag the name of the institution because a lot of people are working hard to maintain Comelec’s good name),” he added.

Garcia stressed again that he has no foreign accounts and does not own any properties in foreign countries.

In a press conference, Marcoleta alleged that a money transfer was done on 22 June 2023, where a deposit worth $148,000 was made by a certain Stephen Schultz/Kyong Baek from Standard Chartered Bank’s Jong Ro Main Branch in South Korea to Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.

Marcoleta then said that on 15 August 2023, a certain Hyun Doo Yoon deposited funds from Woori Bank in Seoul, South Korea to a Bank of Shanghai account in China.