Bautista arrest warrant may be lifted if he submits papers
By AJ Siytangco
Published Mar 19, 2018 03:15 pm
By Hannah Torregoza
The Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies may lift the arrest warrant it issued against former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chief Andres Bautista if he submits his sworn affidavit before the panel.
Once the panel receives his affidavit, Senator Francis (Chiz) Escudero, chair of the Senate banks committee said, he would recommend the lifting of the arrest warrant against Bautista.
Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Andres Bautista
(Ali Vicoy / Manila Bulletin File Photo) “We expect your affidavit on March 26. If you fail to comply we will not lift it; the arrest warrant stays. But if you submit it earlier, that’s the only time the process (of lifting the arrest warrant) will start,” Escudero told Bautista’s legal counsel Anacleto Diaz who appeared at Monday’s hearing. It was Escudero who ordered Bautista’s arrest last February 12, after repeatedly snubbing his panel’s inquiry into the ex-poll chief’s alleged hidden wealth which his estranged wife, Patricia Cruz-Bautista, earlier disclosed. It was Patricia who earlier blew the whistle on her husband’s alleged ill-gotten wealth and questionable bank accounts lodged at the Land Development Bank of the Philippines (LDB). Bautista earlier wrote the committee telling he is out of the country since November to “explore professional opportunities abroad” and to seek medical help. The former Comelec chief said he is committed to answer the Senate questions regarding the allegations hurled against him. However, Escudero said he is dismayed at the way the former poll chief has refused to appear personally before the hearing. He had also urged Bautista to execute a bank waiver to allow the committee to scrutinize his bank accounts, including that of his siblings, Susan Bautista-Afan and Dr. Martin Bautista. During the hearing, Bautista’s lawyer said the former Comelec chief is begging for the committee’s understanding, saying that his client is having a hard time completing his affidavit due to the fact that the documents he is supposed to present to the committee has been stolen by his estranged wife and have not yet been returned to him despite the writ of habeas data issued by the Makati Regional Trial Court. “But more than that, Atty. Bautista had to review the 33 LDB accounts which are the subject of the committee’s inquiry to make it easy for the members of the committee to see that number one, he had substantial wealth even before he joined the government as head of the PCGG,” Diaz told Escudero’s committee. Former President Benigno Aquino III appointed Bautista as head of the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) in August 2010 before he was appointed as Comelec chair in April 2015. The Senate banks committee is now looking into Bautista’s possible violations into the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) after Patricia exposed her husband’s 33 suspicious accounts with LDB. Should the poll chief had the documents, Diaz said his client would also be able to identify and segregate his accounts that he opened for his siblings; specific accounts from investments and specific accounts of his income. “This would enable him to keep track not only of his money but the money entrusted to him by his parents and siblings as well as their respective incomes. It is also to enable him to comply with his obligations, as a politically exposed person to be transparent in his financial transactions,” Diaz stressed. Diaz also said Bautista is calling on the Senate to understand and appreciate that he and his siblings are now facing a plunder complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman. “The past few months have been the most difficult and painful for Atty. Bautista…his family, his career in the government, his reputation were all ruined when he refused to divorce and give her P620-million pesos,” he said. “Nevertheless, we will file manifestations and affidavit on March 26,” Diaz promised the committee.
Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Andres Bautista(Ali Vicoy / Manila Bulletin File Photo) “We expect your affidavit on March 26. If you fail to comply we will not lift it; the arrest warrant stays. But if you submit it earlier, that’s the only time the process (of lifting the arrest warrant) will start,” Escudero told Bautista’s legal counsel Anacleto Diaz who appeared at Monday’s hearing. It was Escudero who ordered Bautista’s arrest last February 12, after repeatedly snubbing his panel’s inquiry into the ex-poll chief’s alleged hidden wealth which his estranged wife, Patricia Cruz-Bautista, earlier disclosed. It was Patricia who earlier blew the whistle on her husband’s alleged ill-gotten wealth and questionable bank accounts lodged at the Land Development Bank of the Philippines (LDB). Bautista earlier wrote the committee telling he is out of the country since November to “explore professional opportunities abroad” and to seek medical help. The former Comelec chief said he is committed to answer the Senate questions regarding the allegations hurled against him. However, Escudero said he is dismayed at the way the former poll chief has refused to appear personally before the hearing. He had also urged Bautista to execute a bank waiver to allow the committee to scrutinize his bank accounts, including that of his siblings, Susan Bautista-Afan and Dr. Martin Bautista. During the hearing, Bautista’s lawyer said the former Comelec chief is begging for the committee’s understanding, saying that his client is having a hard time completing his affidavit due to the fact that the documents he is supposed to present to the committee has been stolen by his estranged wife and have not yet been returned to him despite the writ of habeas data issued by the Makati Regional Trial Court. “But more than that, Atty. Bautista had to review the 33 LDB accounts which are the subject of the committee’s inquiry to make it easy for the members of the committee to see that number one, he had substantial wealth even before he joined the government as head of the PCGG,” Diaz told Escudero’s committee. Former President Benigno Aquino III appointed Bautista as head of the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) in August 2010 before he was appointed as Comelec chair in April 2015. The Senate banks committee is now looking into Bautista’s possible violations into the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) after Patricia exposed her husband’s 33 suspicious accounts with LDB. Should the poll chief had the documents, Diaz said his client would also be able to identify and segregate his accounts that he opened for his siblings; specific accounts from investments and specific accounts of his income. “This would enable him to keep track not only of his money but the money entrusted to him by his parents and siblings as well as their respective incomes. It is also to enable him to comply with his obligations, as a politically exposed person to be transparent in his financial transactions,” Diaz stressed. Diaz also said Bautista is calling on the Senate to understand and appreciate that he and his siblings are now facing a plunder complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman. “The past few months have been the most difficult and painful for Atty. Bautista…his family, his career in the government, his reputation were all ruined when he refused to divorce and give her P620-million pesos,” he said. “Nevertheless, we will file manifestations and affidavit on March 26,” Diaz promised the committee.