FORMER COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) chair Andres D. Bautista, who is currently abroad, is facing an arrest order from the Senate for contempt following his failure to attend anew the inquiry regarding his alleged questionable bank transactions despite a previously issued subpoena.

Senator Francis G. Escudero yesterday said Mr. Bautista’s explanation for his absence was not acceptable.

“I have requested the Senate to issue a warrant for Chairman Bautista so he can be arrested anytime when he arrives in the country. The committee is compelled to do this after his obvious defiance of the Senate orders,” Mr. Escudero, chair of the committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies, said in a statement.

During Monday’s hearing, Mr. Bautista sent a letter addressed to Mr. Escudero and Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III stating that he has been abroad since Nov. 21, 2017 seeking professional opportunities and medical help.

He also asked the Senate panel to recall its Jan. 23 subpoena since he did not receive any invitation to attend the legislative inquiry.

“I understand from news reports that a subpoena has been issued because of my non-appearance in the hearing. In this regard, I respectfully ask that the subpoena be recalled since I never received the invitation,” Mr. Bautista said in his letter.

Mr. Bautista also said that he would answer in writing any of the questions that the Senate panel may have.

In an interview with reporters, Mr. Escudero labelled Mr. Bautista’s excuses in the letter as “a ruse.”

“If he has nothing to hide, then he should not be afraid,” the senator said.

Mr. Escudero also told reporters that there are discrepancies regarding the travel information on Mr. Bautista, citing Bureau of Immigration (BI) records indicating that the former polls chief was out of the country from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 last year, but none on a Nov. 21 departure.

“There is no record in the BI about his alleged departure last Nov. 21 as stated in his letter… I don’t know who is saying the truth,” he said in Filipino.

Mr. Bautista’s siblings, Susan B. Afan and Martin D. Bautista, were also invited by the Senate panel but both likewise failed to show up.

Ms. Afan, through a letter, asked to be excluded from the committee hearing, maintaining that she has no knowledge of the Anti-Money Laundering Law (AMLA).

“If they don’t want to attend, they can execute a waiver… They can tell the committee that they will not issue a waiver, they can invoke whatever rights they have under the laws and we will respect that. But they cannot do that through letters alone and hide behind it,” Mr. Escudero said.

Mr. Bautista’s estranged wife, Patricia P. Bautista, who appeared in Monday’s hearing, urged her husband to answer the allegations.

“Like anybody else, we would like to know the truth about these documents. And this is the best venue for that and like Senator Chiz (Escudero) said, out of respect of the Senate, please appear,” she told reporters.

Mr. Bautista’s alleged unexplained wealth surfaced last year after Ms. Bautista accused him of committing corrupt practices and amassing nearly P1 billion in real estate and cash stashed in banks.

The former Comelec chief was impeached on October 11, 2017, the same day that he tendered his resignation and announced that he would step down by the end of the year. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

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