Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia speaks on the accusations against him in a press conference in Manila on August 8, 2024. Garcia has been accused of accepting illegal funds through offshore accounts. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday said there was a "foreign entity" attempting to interfere in the Philippine elections after they discovered the firms behind an ongoing "demolition job" against them.

In a press conference, Comelec chairman George Garcia identified a US-based company that allegedly opened a US bank account under his name to back the accusation he had offshore accounts to stash bribe money.

• Marcoleta links Comelec's Garcia to 2 offshore accounts in Cayman Islands

The accusation came from party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta.

"Sino ang nasa likod ng pag-oopen ng account o pag-deposit para palabasin na account ko yun? Hindi na-erase [from Marcoleta's presentation]... Jaleo Consulting LLC ang nagpadala. Nung nakita ko po iyan ako'y kinilabutan sapagka't this is direct intervention sa election ng Pilipinas ng isang foreign entity, bawal na bawal po yan," Garcia said.

• Comelec's Garcia submits affidavit of denial vs offshore accounts

(Who was behind the US bank account allegedly under my name? Marcoleta wasn't able to erase the name from his document. It was Jaleo Consulting LLC. This is when I realized that there was a foreign entity attempting to interfere in our local elections.)

Garcia said his team was able to uncover the owner of the Miami, Florida-based Jaleo Consulting. 

"Ang may-ari ng Jaleo ay isang nagngangalang Jose A. Herrera. Hindi po ito Pilipino. Sino ba si Jose A. Herrera? Siya ay director din ng Albatross Technologies Corp. Ang address po ay [Barbados]," he said.

(The owner of Jaleo is one certain Jose A. Herrera, who is not a Filipino. He is also a director of Albatross, which is based on Barbados.)

THE SMARTMATIC CONNECTION

Comelec chair George Garcia said his team was able to uncover the owner of the Miami, Florida-based Jaleo Consulting and that person has strong ties to their previous contractor Smartmatic. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

In an astonishing case of "coincidence," Garcia said Albatross Technologies Corp. shares the same Barbados address of Comelec's former contractor Smartmatic.

• Comelec says end goal of 'demolition job' is 'use of old machines'

"Eh siyempre kagagaling naman ng staff ko ni-research yung address. Sana masagot itong katanungan kong ito. Bakit nga po naman ang address sa Barbados ay parehas sa address ng company ng dati nating provider? Parehas na parehas. Coincidence lang ba yan" Garcia asked. 

(My staff is so competent they were able to discover that Albatross and Smartmatic have identical address in Barbados.)

Comelec last year banned Smartmatic from participating in all its future procurements after it was implicated in a US bribery case against former poll chief Andy Bautista.

• Smartmatic disqualified from Comelec procurements: Garcia

Garcia also said that Herrera had also served as a lawyer for Smartmatic and was the father-in-law of one of its founders.

"Isa lang ang conclusion natin pag ganyan pero ayokong ako ang maggawa ng conclusion."

(All these circumstances and facts lead into just one conclusion but I don't want to be the one to state it.)

In a statement, Smartmatic denied that it was behind the "demolition job" against Comelec.

“We are saddened to hear the latest accusations made by Comelec chairman George Garcia about Smartmatic. Our company is not involved nor is behind any of the claims made by Chairman Garcia against us. Such accusations are both unfair and unjust,” the Smartmatic stated.

THREAT TO DEMOCRACY

Comelec chair George Garcia appeals to Congress and President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to prevent alleged attempts by foreign actors to intervene in the country's electoral exercises. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Garcia said he already wrote to the US Department of Justice to investigate those behind the US bank accounts linked to him.

"Violation po ng anti-money laundering law ng Amerika iyan, ganyan sila kahigpit kaya ako sumulat na ngayong araw sa US DOJ upang i-report ang bagay na iyan dahil bank fraud at identity theft na din ito," he said.

(What they did was against the US laws on money laundering, as well as bank fraud and identity theft, that is why I already wrote to the US DOJ to investigate who are the people behind this.)

• Comelec chief vows to sue ex-lawmaker over bribery claims

The Comelec chair meanwhile appealed to both the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to stop attempts by foreign entities to influence the Philippine elections.

• NSC sounds alarm on possible foreign interference in 2025 midterm polls

"Sana wag tayong papayag na ang ating mga opisina at institusyon ay magagmit upang maghasik ng mga kasinungalingan at manira ng puri ng iba.. Sana matulungan tayo na yung mga ganitong entities ay hindi makamayagpag sa ating lipunan," Garcia said.

(Let us not allow our institutions to be used by these entities to spread lies and sow chaos in our society.)

The poll body chief said this is a clear threat to the country's democracy and Filipinos should not allow it. 

"Ito ay isang banta sa ating demokrasya. Ang pakikiaalam ng isang foreign entity sa ating halalan... Hindi tayo dapat pumayag na basta-basta nila tayo paiikutin at maimpluwensyahan at maniobrahin," Garcia appealed.

(Foreign interference in our elections is a threat to our democracy. Us Filipinos will not be manipulated and influenced by these entities.) —With a report from Sherrie Ann Torres, ABS-CBN News

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