Losing poll bet wants Comelec chief disbarred
A lawyer who lost in the May 12 polls has filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking to disbar Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia for allegedly asking him to pay P300 million to win his bid for a House seat.
But Garcia denounced the accusation, saying it was the opposite of what really happened when he met in October 2024 with lawyer Jordan Pizarras, who was gunning to be Bohol congressman, and several other people.
In his petition, Pizarras claimed that Garcia’s behavior during that meeting raised “serious ethical concerns” after the latter told him that P300 million was needed to win the election, “suggesting undue influence.”
He asked the high court to initiate disbarment, suspension or disciplinary proceedings against Garcia and other respondents for gross violation of Rule 139-B of the Rules of Court.
Pizarras, who ran for Bohol representative but finished third in the race, claimed in the petition that Garcia made “vague but pointed remarks about vote-buying.”
Vote recount sought
The petition for certiorari and mandamus also sought the high court’s intervention to compel the poll body to reverse its proclamation of eventual winner Baba Yap and to manually recount the votes cast in the elections, based on Section 31 of Republic Act No. 9369, or the Election Modernization Act.
Pizarras claimed Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion, manifest bias, and numerous procedural and legal violations, such as allegedly using an unauthorized source code and an “illegal data server,” in the recent polls.
But in an interview over radio station TrueFM, Garcia said the narrative of Pizarras and his lawyer Harold Respicio was the complete opposite of what actually happened in 2024.
Respicio ran in the last election and apparently won as vice mayor of Reina Mercedes, Isabela, but Comelec suspended his proclamation pending the resolution of a criminal complaint the poll body filed against him for claiming that he could manipulate the automated counting machines in the last election.
“I was surprised and startled by the case that was filed. It looks like I was accused wrongly about that thing. But I’m happy that they filed the case rather than discussing these things on social media,” Garcia said.
According to the Comelec chair, he did meet with Pizarras and several companions who went to his office to complain about persons going around Bohol offering their services to manipulate the results of the elections.
“I said they should be arrested and that they [Pizarras and companions] should not believe the offers,” he said.
At one point in the conversation, Garcia said that he was asked how much congressional candidates usually spend on an election campaign, based on his experience as a former election lawyer.
“I said it depends on the number of voters. More or less, it might take P300 million, because even before the election campaign period, candidates are already campaigning,” he added.
Garcia said it was “impossible” for him to “suggest” extortion in the presence of many people, adding that he had only met Pizarras and his companions for the first time.
“Would you suggest [extortion] during your first meeting with the person and in front of many people?” he said, questioning why it took Pizarras eight months to file the case.
