BY ASHZEL HACHERO and GERARD NAVAL
FORMER Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice yesterday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to cite Elections chairman George Garcia in contempt for allegedly violating the sub judice rule when he publicly commented on the petition seeking to void the contract between the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the South Korean-led joint venture company Miru Systems that won the P17.9 billion contract for the Automated Election System (AES) to be used in the 2025 national and local elections.
In a three-page motion, Erice said Garcia violated the sub judice rule when he said that the poll body may “resort to a manual 2025 national and local elections” if the High Court issues a ruling invalidating the Miru contract.
“In making the above statements, chairman George Garcia, speaking in his capacity as chairman of the Comelec, threatened this Court that an adverse ruling will result to a return to the conduct of a manual election,” Erice said, stressing that this violated the sub judice prohibition.
The sub judice rule prohibits the discussion of the merits of a case being heard in court to avoid prejudging the issue, influencing the court, or obstructing the administration of justice.
Erice said Garcia’s comment is a “downright irresponsible behavior.”
Garcia scoffed at Erice’s motion, saying it is absurd that the former lawmaker is the one accusing him of violating the sub judice rule when it was actually him who has been publicly speaking about his petition against the poll automation contract.
“Who’s frequently calling for press conferences? Who is the one with several interviews? Ako po ay may isang dangkal ng lahat ng sinabi (niya) sa press conference at saka sa mga interview (I have a collection of what he has been saying in his press conferences and interviews),” said Garcia.
“If I really have bad intentions, I would have filed a motion to cite him in contempt. But I didn’t do that,” he added.
As to the motion filed in the SC, the poll chief said he welcomes the latest challenge from Erice.
“This would be good as the people will know who is lying and who is telling the truth,” said Garcia, explaining that the statements he supposedly made in violation of the sub judice rule are merely responses to questions regarding their preparations for the 2025 elections.
“During my interviews as chairman of the Comelec, I merely respond to questions how are our preparations for the elections. I merely answer the questions as the person in authority as it is part of our mandate,” said Garcia.
Meanwhile, the SC en banc directed Erice to answer the petition of Miru for the issuance of a “confidentiality and protective gag order” to prevent him from discussing and disclosing information on the case to a third party.
SC spokesperson Camille Sue Ting said the justices have directed Erice to answer the petition within a “non-extendible period of 10 days from notice.”
In a related development, Garcia challenged his critics to make their allegations that he has several bank accounts with alleged deposits from South Korea under oath.
He said doing so would prove that their allegations are serious. “What is happening is really wrong. Why? They are making accusations but aren’t doing so under oath. Question, are they prepared to put under oath their allegations?” he asked.
In contrast, he said it is actually him, the one who is being accused, who is coming out with sworn statements and affidavits.
“I am the one accused but it is I that is seeking certifications and issuing sworn statements,” said Garcia.
He cited as an example the certifications from Land Bank of the Philippines and Metrobank that the alleged bank accounts he owns are actually “non-existent”.
Aside from LandBank and Metrobank, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) also issued a similar certification over the alleged bank accounts of Garcia.
According to BPI – Alfaro Branch Manager Zyra May Oswa, no such bank accounts exist in their records.
“Please be informed that bank information in your Letter is/are spurious,” said Oswa.
Last Monday, Erice submitted to the Comelec several documents, which he labeled as the “Bahamas files,” supposedly from an anonymous sender containing details of the foreign and local bank accounts of a poll official.
Garcia quickly responded by saying he is the one being alluded to by Erice but denied the allegations of having several bank accounts.
Meanwhile, Garcia got a shot in the arm after gaining the backing of the Comelec – Employees’ Union (Comelec-EU), which said in a short statement that they agree with the Comelec chief that the allegations are merely part of a “demolition job” aimed at discrediting the forthcoming elections.
“We agree with chairman Garcia that this is a well-oiled demolition job that is clearly meant to erode the public’s trust on the automated election system,” said the Comelec-EU.
The union with 5,000 members also said they do not see the issues as a mere attack on Garcia, but rather to the entire institution.
“As election frontliners, we can not stand idly by as our beloved institution and our leaders are maligned with allegations and insinuations that are so blatantly unfounded and absurd,” said the Comelec-EU.