Amid ill-gotten wealth issue, Bautista tells Duterte he is ready to quit post

Embattled Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson Andres Bautista said Monday he is ready to resign from his post, even as he denied allegations of unexplained wealth as floated by his estranged wife.

At a press conference, Bautista recalled his August 1 meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang on his marital spat with Patricia Paz Bautista, who has claimed to have discovered nearly P1 billion in undeclared assets of the Comelec chief.

"Sabi ko sa kanya (referring to Duterte) 'Hindi po ako kapit tuko sa kahit anong posisyon or panunungkulan. Kung ang palagay ko ay nagiging pabigat na isang institusyon, wala namang problema sa akin na magbitiw.' Pero ang sabi nya sa akin, 'I am not asking you to resign. That is really your call,'" said Bautista, whose seven-year term ends in 2022.

Bautista said he was accompanied by his sister, mother-in-law and stepfather-in-law during the Palace meeting. 

On July 26, Mrs. Bautista met with the President and told him about the bank passbooks and other documents she has discovered detailing bank accounts and real estate properties in the name of her husband and some relatives.

Among the alleged assets is a condominium unit in San Francisco, California which she said she was not aware of.

Mrs. Bautista said these were not included in the Comelec chairperson's Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SALN) for 2016.

She added that her husband may be impeached should it be proven that the assets were ill-gotten while he is serving the government.

Told about this possibility, Bautista said in a television interview that he was ready to face impeachment proceedings.

"As an impeachable officer, that is always part and parcel of our terrain. If and when that happens, then I will have to face it," he said.

Still, Bautista denied his estranged wife's allegations and accused her of attempting to extort money from him and having an affair.

He said Mrs. Bautista was "motivated by greed" and that she allowed herself to be used by "certain people and groups to promote a political agenda designed to cast aspersions on me and the Comelec's work in the 2016 elections."

"It is apparent that she and her long-time lover concocted this extortion plan with guidance from ill-intentioned lawyers who thought they could threaten me into simply turning over hard earned and legitimately acquired assets belonging to me and my family. They were wrong," Bautista said in a statement.

"It is unfortunate that my ex-wife's greed has resulted in irreparable damage to me, my family, her own family and most importantly to our children. I shall address all of these issues at the proper forum. But I will not give in to blackmail."

The NBI has already been ordered by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to look into the allegations of ill-gotten wealth against Bautista, a development welcomed by the Comelec chief himself. — RSJ/KG, GMA News