Garcia links Smartmatic to alleged ‘demolition job’

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Garcia on Thursday linked election service provider Smartmatic as the company behind the alleged demolition job against him.

In a press conference, Garcia presented documents indicating that a certain Jaleo Consulting LLC—owned by a Jose A. Herrera—carried out the offshore bank transactions. The company is registered in Florida, United States.

“Jaleo Consulting LLC ang nagpadala. Nung nakita ko po yan, ako po’y kinilabutan sapagkat usa lang ang pumasok sa aking isip, bilang namumuno ng Comelec, this is direct intervention sa eleksyon ng Pilipinas ng isang foreign entity (Jaleo Consulting LLC was the one that sent it. After I saw it, I had goosebumps because there’s only one thing that came to my mind as a Comelec chief, this is a direct intervention in the Philippine elections by a foreign entity),” Garcia said.

Harrera, Garcia explained, is also connected with Albatross Technologies Corporation.

Albatross Technologies Corporation, the poll body chief disclosed, is located at No. 26 Pine Road, Belleville Street, St. Michael in Barbados which is the same address of Smartmatic Services Corporation, based on the screenshot provided by Garcia to the media.

“Bakit nga ba naman ang address na sinasabi ko ay parehas sa address ng dati nating provider? Coincidence lang ba yan? Sana maipaliwanag (Why does it share the same address with our previous provider? Was it only a coincidence? Hope they could explain that to us),” Garcia said.

“Ayaw kong ako ang maggawa ng conclusion [pero] parehas po ang kanilang address (I don’t want to make any conclusion but they share the same address),” he added.

The Comelec chief mantained he is willing to answer to any queries.

The poll body disqualified Smartmatic, the country’s former provider of vote-counting machines, from participating in the bidding for the 2025 midterm elections “to safeguard the intergrity of the country’s elections.”

Smartmatic handled the Philippine elections held between 2010 and 2022.

Sagip Partylist Rep. Rodante Marcoleta previously accused Garcia of having offshore accounts in New York and Cayman Islands.

Marcoleta said they tapped volunteers in New York to make bank transfers worth $100 to the said offshort bank accounts allegedly owned by Garcia.

On Wednesday, Garcia said two banks in Cayman Islands—Scotiabank and Cayman National Bank—have issued certifications that his alleged offshore accounts were non-existent.

“Sinagot ako mismo na wala akong account at walang pangalang ganun sa kanilang system (The banks have answered my queries and said there were no accounts under my name in their system),” Garcia said in a radio interview.