Comelec Under Fire: Lawyers Move to Impeach Garcia and 6 Commissioners
A group of lawyers says it is taking the fight straight to Congress by filing an impeachment complaint against Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia and six commissioners. The case accuses the poll body’s leadership of election-law violations, institutional misconduct, and betrayal of public trust.
The Manila Times reported that the complaint is being pushed by Eldrige Marvin Aceron of Aceron & Attorneys and Sikini Labastilla of Project Damaskus Lawyers. They tied the allegations to both the 2022 and 2025 elections, saying the issues show a pattern instead of isolated lapses lang.
One major point in the complaint involves the use of software version 3.5.0 in around 110,000 automated counting machines during the May 12, 2025 polls. The complainants argued that this was not the same software version that underwent the required source code review, while Garcia had earlier acknowledged the version’s use.
They also questioned an alleged unauthorized intermediary server called Data Center 3, claiming election results passed through it before reaching accredited transparency servers. The lawyers said that setup delayed results for watchdog groups such as PPCRV and Namfrel, and they further alleged that transmission logs that could verify early vote data were not preserved.
Garcia brushed off the complaint as a recycling of old issues, pointing to random manual audits, ballot revisions, citizens’ arms, and international observers as proof of election credibility. Even so, the filing raises the political temperature early, especially with 2028 already casting a long shadow over every major institution.
Source: The Manila Times
