Senate committee subpoenas ex-Comelec head Andy Bautista
Published Jan 23, 2018 12:37 pm
By Hannah Torregoza
The Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies has issued a subpoena to former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista after he failed to attend today’s panel hearing in connection with possible violation of the anti-money laundering law on Tuesday.
Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, chair of the Senate committee, said that the subpoena directs Bautista to appear on the next scheduled hearing on February 12, 2018.
Andres Bautista
(ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN) Tuesday’s hearing would have been the third. It is also the third time that Bautista has failed to appear. If Bautista still refuses to attend the Senate’s hearing on February, Escudero said he would move to hold the former poll body chief in contempt and move for his arrest as provided under Section 18 of the Rules Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation. “The committee has consistently sent him invitations to all of the hearings we conducted but until today, he has not given any reasons for his absence. Not even a representative to act on his behalf,” Escudero said. “We held him in his own words to the media in the past that he will appear and defend himself once invited but apparently he has been a consistent no-show,” the senator added. Escudero said he has also asked the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to provide the committee with all information of Bautista’s travel movements from Aug. 1, 2017 to date. He said his committee has sent invitations to all of Bautista’s three known addresses since the Senate inquiry began in August. Escudero’s committee has been holding hearings since August last year in connection with Senate Resolution No. 468 or the possible violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) by some covered institutions after Bautista’s estranged wife, Patricia, came out publicly to accuse her husband of having ill-gotten wealth worth P1-billion, which he did not disclose in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN). Bautista resigned as Comelec chief immediately in October 2017 after the House of Representatives’ dangled an impeachment case against him when he announced he will resign at the end of December 2017. Attorney Lorna Kapunan, Patricia Bautista’s lawyer, said they welcome the issuance of the Senate panel’s subpoena against the former Comelec chief. Kapunan said they would likewise, ask Escudero to also summon Bautista’s sister, Susan Bautista-Afan, since some of the assets and bank accounts in question are under her name. Apart from Bautista-Afan, she also said they call on the committee to inquire into the whereabouts of Dr. Martin Bautista, brother of the former election chief. She pointed out that Bautista’s brother has claimed that the bank accounts were his and vowed to present documents to the Senate to prove his ownership. “But we learned he has not been in the country since the holidays last year. We hope there is no attempt to obstruct justice,” Kapunan told reporters in an interview.
Andres Bautista(ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN) Tuesday’s hearing would have been the third. It is also the third time that Bautista has failed to appear. If Bautista still refuses to attend the Senate’s hearing on February, Escudero said he would move to hold the former poll body chief in contempt and move for his arrest as provided under Section 18 of the Rules Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation. “The committee has consistently sent him invitations to all of the hearings we conducted but until today, he has not given any reasons for his absence. Not even a representative to act on his behalf,” Escudero said. “We held him in his own words to the media in the past that he will appear and defend himself once invited but apparently he has been a consistent no-show,” the senator added. Escudero said he has also asked the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to provide the committee with all information of Bautista’s travel movements from Aug. 1, 2017 to date. He said his committee has sent invitations to all of Bautista’s three known addresses since the Senate inquiry began in August. Escudero’s committee has been holding hearings since August last year in connection with Senate Resolution No. 468 or the possible violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) by some covered institutions after Bautista’s estranged wife, Patricia, came out publicly to accuse her husband of having ill-gotten wealth worth P1-billion, which he did not disclose in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN). Bautista resigned as Comelec chief immediately in October 2017 after the House of Representatives’ dangled an impeachment case against him when he announced he will resign at the end of December 2017. Attorney Lorna Kapunan, Patricia Bautista’s lawyer, said they welcome the issuance of the Senate panel’s subpoena against the former Comelec chief. Kapunan said they would likewise, ask Escudero to also summon Bautista’s sister, Susan Bautista-Afan, since some of the assets and bank accounts in question are under her name. Apart from Bautista-Afan, she also said they call on the committee to inquire into the whereabouts of Dr. Martin Bautista, brother of the former election chief. She pointed out that Bautista’s brother has claimed that the bank accounts were his and vowed to present documents to the Senate to prove his ownership. “But we learned he has not been in the country since the holidays last year. We hope there is no attempt to obstruct justice,” Kapunan told reporters in an interview.