Senator Francis Escudero on Wednesday said he would ask Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III to issue a subpoena to former Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista for his failure to attend hearings on his alleged ill-gotten wealth.
“We will be requesting the Senate President to issue subpoena to Chair Bautista, given the fact that he did not even give us a reason for his absence in this morning’s hearing,” said Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on banks.
“Until Chairman Bautista appears [here] and clarifies, and they have said on national TV with much braggadocio that they will appear and defend themselves, I hope they will heed their own words that he made a couple of weeks ago,” the senator added.
Escudero said one of the three invites sent to Bautista had been received in one of his addresses, but no explanation was relayed to the Senate committee on why he could not attend the hearing.
Unlike the committee’s last hearing, Escudero said Bautista had informed the panel that he could not attend that time because he was abroad.
The senator noted Bautista and his brother, Martin, had said “several words” that they are open to any investigation, that they are not hiding anything, and they will cooperate and execute their waiver.
However, Escudero admitted that while the Senate can compel Bautista to attend its proceedings, the chamber could not force the former election chief to issue a waiver for his bank accounts. Escudero said the committee would also invite Martin Bautista to attend the next hearing set in January 2018.
Bautista announced his resignation from the Comelec last August, but only stepped down last October. His resignation came less than a month after the House of Representatives junked an impeachment complaint against him over his alleged unexplained wealth.
Bautista’s wife, Patricia, claimed that he might have amassed nearly P1 billion in ill-gotten wealth. The former Comelec chief has repeatedly denied the allegation.
