Comelec chief tells AMLC: Verify Marcoleta's claims

COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Wednesday urged the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to validate the allegation of former Sagip Party-list representative Dante Marcoleta that he owns 49 offshore bank accounts containing at least $15.2 million.

Garcia has issued a waiver in support of the AMLC probe, which he said was a demonstration of his commitment to transparency and accountability.

«These documents authorized the AMLC to open and investigate the bank accounts allegedly under my name, and to inquire without counterparts or equivalent agencies in the mentioned foreign countries to determine the existence or non-existence of such accounts,» a portion of Garcia's letter to AMLC read.

Former Sagip Party-list representative Dante Marcoleta

Garcia authorized the AMLC to share its findings with the National Bureau of Investigation.

«Given the potential implications of these allegations on the integrity and independence of the Commission on Elections and the electoral process, I urge the AMLC to prioritize the investigation,» Garcia said.

Marcoleta did not directly name Garcia, but his allegations said a Comelec official has accepted bribe money from a Korean firm, likely referring to the Joint Venture of Miru Systems that bagged the P18 billion contract for the lease of 110,000 customized automated counting machines for the 2025 midterm polls.

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Marcoleta said the funds were deposited in HSBC, OCBC, Citibank NA, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of America, DBS Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Shanghai, UBS (Bahamas) Ltd., RBC (Royal Bank), Cayman Island National Bank, CBC First Caribbean Bank, Butterfield Bank, Scotiabank Cayman Island and Chase Bank.

He added that the total deposits amounted to $15.2 million or almost P1 billion, adding that at least $1.2 million or more than P120 million were deposits made from Korean bank accounts between June 22, 2023, to March 22, 2024.