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Commission on Elections Chairperson George Garcia speaks at the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the National Council on Disability Affairs at the Comelec head office in Intramuros, Manila on Monday, March 10, 2025.
STAR / Ryan Baldemor
MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia said he was blindsided and dismayed by a disbarment case accusing him of extortion.
He called the allegations a complete reversal of what actually happened.
“Ako po’y nagulat at nagulantang doon sa na-file na kaso sapagkat mukhang ako’y nabaligtad sa bagay na ‘yan,” Garcia said in an interview with TrueFM on Thursday, June 19. “Although natutuwa ako sapagkat nag-file sila ng kaso rather than doon sa social media nila tinatalakay 'yung mga bagay na 'yan.”
(“I was surprised and rattled by the case filed because it seems I've been reversed in that matter. Although I'm happy because they filed a case rather than discussing those things on their social media.”)
The complaint was filed by lawyer Jordan Pizarras on Wednesday, June 18. He claimed that during a meeting in October 2024, Garcia allegedly demanded P300 million in exchange for winning the local elections.
Pizarras also accused the poll body of routing election returns through an unauthorized intermediary server and alleged that Garcia had ties to political families in Bohol.
‘Don’t believe such things,’ Garcia told them.
Garcia said the complainants arrived at his office with companions and raised concerns about individuals in their province claiming they could "manipulate the elections."
He denied the extortion charge and said the meeting was far from a private exchange.
“Sabi ko, kailangan natin ipaaresto yan, ‘wag kayo magpapaniwala sa mga ganyan,” he said.
(“I told them, we need to arrest them. Don’t believe such things.”)
Alleged P300M figure misinterpreted. Garcia said that during the open discussion in his office, someone asked, “When you were a practitioner chairman, how much did it cost when someone ran for congressman?”
His response, which he believes is now being twisted, was: “For a congressman, it depends on the number of voters. It’s more or less P300 million before the election because they are already campaigning.”
Pizarras also raised Comelec’s use of software version 3.5.0 in its Automated Counting Machines instead of version 3.4.0 — the source code previously reviewed and certified, as required under Republic Act 8436.
