OUTGOING Bohol Rep. Edgar M. Chatto, congressional bet John Geesnell Yap II, members of the board of canvassers, Bohol Comelec supervisor Atty. Eliseo Labaria and information technologists of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are included in a petition filed before the Supreme Court (SC).
Atty. Jordan Pizarras, who lost in the first district race, filed a petition before the SC “for certiorari and mandamus under rule 65 of the Rules of Court with prayer for issuance of status quo pro ante order and writ of mandatory preliminary injunction”. The said petition was marked received on June 18, 2025 at 4:07 in the afternoon.
The petition is primarily filed against Comelec chair Atty. George Garcia, and commissioners Ferdinand Maceda, Jr., Aimee P. Feralino-Ampoloquio, Rey E. Bulay, Nona Tangaro-Casingal, Nilo Pipo and “John Does” who are information tech officers.
Yap defeated incumbent congressman Chatto in the first district race in the just concluded May 12 elections and was proclaimed by the Comelec.
Garcia “is facing disbarment and bribery complaints filed by Isabela Vice Mayor-elect Harold Respicio before the Supreme Court,” Abogado PH said. “In his complaint, Respicio alleged that Garcia offered P300M to losing Bohol First District Congressman Jordan Pizzaras in exchange for delivering a sure victory in the 2025 midterm elections.”
The Philstar reported that Garcia was surprised. “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 news report said that Pizarras “claimed that during a meeting in October 2024, Garcia allegedly demanded P300 million in exchange for winning the local elections.”
But Garcia has denied the extortion allegation.
This paper tried to reach out to Chatto, Yap and others to get their side to no avail. (rvo)
