MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia announced on Wednesday that he is considering filing a counter-charge of falsification against former Rep. Egay Erice, who accused the poll body official of owning foreign bank accounts and assets.
Garcia said that he would wait for the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) before filing any charges.
“As much as possible, I don’t want to preempt the NBI and the AMLC. Take note, the allegations thrown against me and the commission on elections were allegations not under oath,” Garcia said in an interview with ANC Headstart.
“That’s falsification if proven not true especially if it’s made public and if done with bad intention or bad faith,…that is punishable under the Revised Penal Code,” he added.
Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code states that falsification by a private individual and the use of falsified documents can lead to up to six years of imprisonment and a fine of up to P5,000.
On Monday, Erice presented what he called the “Bahamas files,” which allegedly list 14 bank accounts amounting to P877 million belonging to an unnamed Comelec official and his wife.
Erice said that the official owned properties in Singapore, Hong Kong, the US and Makati City.
Erice also mentioned that the unnamed Comelec official received $1 million (approximately P58.3 million) from Miru Systems, the South Korea-based service provider for the 2025 midterm elections.
Garcia denied the accusations, asserting that he has never held any offshore accounts or owned properties abroad. He added that he has only held two visas in his life, making it impossible for him to have established accounts in the mentioned countries.
“I would like to categorically state that I know not a single offshore account nor a single property abroad,” Garcia said in the ANC interview.
On Tuesday, Erice requested the Supreme Court (SC) to cite the Comelec chair in contempt for his statements regarding the petition Erice filed, which challenges the poll body’s P17.9-billion contract with Miru Systems.
The SC has required Erice to comment on Miru’s gag order petition, which aims to prevent the disclosure and discussion of information by third parties.
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