THE highly criticized, newly appointed commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), George Erwin Garcia, said Thursday, March 10, 2022, he would inhibit from all the cases involving his former client, presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
"Lahat ng kaso ni Marcos, I will likewise write a letter to the Clerk of Court stating that I will not participate in any way dito sa mga cases," he said, adding that he already withdraw as counsel in all other cases at the Comelec and other electoral tribunal.
"Just to show na wala naman po akong vested interest dito (Just to show that I don’t have any vested interest here),” he added.
Garcia represented Marcos in his electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo after he lost in the 2016 national elections.
Of the several petitions filed against Marcos’s certificate of candidacy for president, five were awaiting final decision after already being denied by the en banc while one remains pending.
Aside from Marcos, Garcia also handled electoral cases of presidential aspirant Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, the leader of the PDP-Laban faction that fielded Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao as their standard bearer for the upcoming polls.
Moreno and Pimentel both vouched for Garcia’s professionalism and capability to perform his duties with fairness and partiality. (SunStar Philippines)