 |
| Photo credit to owner |
A formal impeachment complaint has been filed on Wednesday against Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution over accusations that he acquired unexplained wealth worth P1 billion through questionable means.
Accompanied by lawyers Ferdinand Topacio and Manuelito Luna, former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras filed the impeachment complaint at the House of Representatives.
The complaint was endorsed by Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia, Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque, and Cavite Rep. Abraham Tolentino.
The complaint stemmed from the revelation of his estranged wife Patricia who executed an affidavit detailing how the embattled poll chief amassed huge wealth.
In the impeachment complaint, Bautista was accused of not faithfully declaring his true wealth in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities Networth (SALN), as well as for alleged graft and corruption for allegedly receiving commissions from Divina Law Offices, the legal counsel of Venezuelan election technology supplier and Comelec’s biggest contractor Smartmatic.
Former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras arrived with his lawyers Ferdinand Topacio and Manuelito Luna at the House of Representatives’ Secretary General’s office Wednesday afternoon to file the impeachment complaint against Bautista. Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia, Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque, and Cavite Rep. Abraham Tolentino endorsed the impeachment complaint, fulfilling the first requirement for an impeachment complaint to be duly endorsed by a member of the lower House.
 |
| Photo credit to owner |
 |
| Photo credit to owner |
 |
| Photo credit to owner |
 |
| Photo credit to owner |
 |
| Photo credit to owner |
 |
| Photo credit to owner |
 |
| Photo credit to owner |
Former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras pose for a picture with his lawyers Ferdinand Topacio and Manuelito Luna after filing the impeachment complaint against Comelec chair Andres Bautista. He is with the endorsers of the complaint, Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia, Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque, and Cavite Rep. Abraham Tolentino. Photo from the office of Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque.
The complaint stemmed from allegations from his estranged wife that Commission on Elections Chairman Bautista has wealth not that he did not disclose in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth, a document that government workers are required to submit yearly.
Bautista is also accused of betraying public trust when he allegedly failed to adopt safeguards that could have prevented the data breach or hacking of his agency’s website.
“He miserably failed to adopt adequate safeguards as mandated under Republic Act No. 10173 or the ‘Data Privacy Act of 2012,’ that could have prevented the data breach or hacking of the Comelec website, to the great prejudice and damage of millions of Filipinos,” the complainants alleged.
Another ground that was cited by the complainants was the alleged Bautista’s betrayal of public trust for failing to “promptly act” on the hacking of the Comelec website. They added that Bautista neglected his duties and responsibilities when he declined to assume “direct control and supervision” of the task force tasked to look into the poll body’s data breach.
The Comelec chairman is also accused of obstruction of justice.
“[He] obstructed 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,” the complaint read.
Paras and Topacio alleged that this was in effect an “exoneration” of the said specialists pending the results of the probe.
The complaint filed by former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras and Ferdinand Topacio, lawyer for the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, was endorsed by three members of the House: Rep. Abraham Tolentino (7th District Cavite), Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia (3rd District Cebu) and Rep. Harry Roque (Kabayan Party-list).
Tolentino — brother of presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino — and Garcia are members of the administration PDP-Laban party. Roque, meanwhile, is from the minority bloc, which has been generally supportive of the Duterte administration
Their endorsement fulfills the first requirement for an impeachment complaint to move forward at the House, where all impeachment complaints originate.
“We hereby resolve to endorse, as we hereby endorse, the attached verified complaint by Jacinto V. Paras and Ferdinand S. Topacio, and strongly recommend that the same be given due course by the House of Representatives,” the resolution of the three solons read.
Patricia Bautista, the estranged wife of the Comelec chief, claimed that her husband had more than P1 billion in undeclared wealth. She presented property and bank documents purportedly showing the undeclared assets of the poll chief.
Bautista’s declared net worth on his SALN is only P176 million.
Comment your thoughts hit Like and Share the article. Thank you!
Source: PhilStar, Abogado
0 comments: