SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta has alleged that a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official has opened a whopping 49 offshore accounts some of which received $2.1 million or more than P120 million in deposits from Korean bank accounts between June 22, 2023 to March 22, 2024. 

Marcoleta challenged Comelec to respond to this "intriguing information" which he bared during a press conference in Quezon City Tuesday, July 9. 

This, as the former House deputy speaker continued to assail Comelec's chosen contractor for the 2025 automated polls, South Korea's Miru Systems Co. Ltd. Miru's contract is worth P18 billion. 

"There are 49 offshore accounts. Ang binanggit ko lamang po (What I mentioned) are those specifically originating from South Korea, for obvious purposes," he told reporters. 

"Aren't we supposed to question the Comelec? Is that the Comelec constitutionally obligated to at least make a response?" underscored Marcoleta. 

Marcoleta announced that he intends to file a resolution in the House of Representatives to investigate the unnamed Comelec official, the alleged offshore accounts, and the highly questionable transactions made to these accounts over the span of the bidding process for the 2025 automated election system (AES). 

Asked point-blank during the presser if he believed that Miru had bribed the Comelec official, the normally outspoken solon said: "Your guess is as good as mine." 

While he's not making a conclusion, Marcoleta said that indications lead him to believe that only one Comelec official in linked to the 49 offshore accounts "based on information gathered so far". 

"Kamuntikan na po akong mahulog sa upuan ko, talagang nakakabigla po ito (I nearly fell off my seat, it's really shocking)," said the SAGIP lawmaker. 

Pressed to identify this person, he said: "Ayaw po nating sabihin ang pangalan, kasi nga it's unfair na sabihin pangalan (We don't want to reveal the name because it's unfair to say the name) while we are still in the process of verifying this." 

(Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The June 22, 2023 to March 22, 2024 period wherein the deposits were made covered the time that Comelec declared Miru as the sole qualified bidder for the AES, the announcement of the award of the P18-billion contract, and Miru's receipt of the notice of award. 

Marcoleta had expressed his concern regarding reports that Miru plans to use a combination of Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) and Optical Mark Reader (OMR) automated counting machines, as this so-called two-systems-in-one that Miru wants to roll-out for the 2025 polls has never been used elsewhere in the world. 

(Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

"There's no precedent yet. P18 billion, the biggest contract ever for automated election system," he said in a worrisome tone. 

Marcoleta noted that all that Miru had presented so far for testing was a prototype machine--something that isn't allowed by Philippine law. 

"There is already a notice of award, without even presenting that these machines are the ones that [we'll use]. Nag work ba yung hybrid? Eh yun ngang separate applications hindi nag work in Congo as well as in Iraq, papano pa yung combined application?" 

(Did the hybrid work? The separate applications didn't even wore in Congo as well as in Iraq, what more the combined application? )