COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Juan Andres Bautista was slapped with an impeachment complaint at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, August 23, roughly two weeks after his wife revealed his alleged "ill-gotten" wealth.
The impeachment complaint was filed by Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) General Counsel Ferdinand Topacio and former Negros Oriental representative Jacinto Paras. The two are represented by lawyer Manuelito Luna.
It was endorsed by Deputy Speaker and Cebu Representative Gwendolyn Garcia, Kabayan Partylist Representative Harry Roque, and Cavite Representative Abraham Tolentino.
According to the complaint, Bautista culpably violated the Constitution and/or betrayed the public trust when he committed the following:
* Failing to truthfully, accurately, or completely disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) as required under section 17, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution.
* Neglecting his duties and responsibilities as head of agency, particularly in collecting and further processing of personal data, which led to unnecessary exposure of personal and sensitive information of millions of Filipinos.
* Obstructing justice when he cleared Smartmatic and Comelec IT specialists of any wrongdoing for the so-called script tweak during the consolidation/canvassing of results in the May 2016 election.
In an ambush interview after the filing, Roque said they decided to endorse the complaint, as it satisfied the “personal knowledge” standard he was looking for.
“Nandito po naka-append yung affidavit ni Tish (Patricia) Bautista, and she of course has personal knowledge dun sa mga nasiwalat nya sa kanyang tahanan,” Roque said.
According to Roque, Patricia’s lawyers assured them that she will testify once summoned by the impeachment court.
“I would have not endorsed it without the assurance from Mrs. Bautista that on the hearing she will appear and attest to the truthfulness of her affidavit, and bring all her documentary evidence that we mentioned in her complaint,” Roque said.
Garcia, for her part, said that the suspicion surrounding the “accumulated” wealth of Bautista pushed her to endorse the complaint.
“Ang dami-dami ng haka-haka at tanong ng taong bayan after the revelation of Patricia Bautista as regards the parang malaking accumulated wealth as evidenced by the passbooks na pinakita,” she said.
Tolentino said the complaint will also give Bautista the "opportunity to refute [the allegations and] clear his name."
Roque said he wants his colleagues to thoroughly review the merits of the complaint, especially since the integrity of Comelec is at stake.
“Kami ang pakiusap namin, pag-aralan sana yung complaint nang mabuti at isipin din na nakasalalay sa issue na ito ang integridad ng Comelec bilang institusyon na nagpapatupad ng ating mga eleksyon,” Roque said.
According to Paras, the impeachment will serve as a warning to incumbent and future Comelec officials to protect the integrity of the poll body.
"Ang Comelec is a very very important agency of our government. It determines our democracy. Eh kung may bahid po yung nagpapatakbo, yung resulta kaduda duda," he said. (SunStar Philippines)