Sotto: No politics in seeking Senate probe on allegations vs. Comelec chief

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said Wednesday his request for senators to probe claims that Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista has nearly P1 billion in unexplained wealth was not influenced by politics.

At a media forum in Manila, Sotto said he filed Senate Resolution 456 for the purpose of coming up with appropriate amendments to Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

"Hindi natin maiiwasan na may mga taong dadalhin sa pulitika ang usapan kasi nga ang pinag-uusapan ay ang namahala nung 2016 elections. Pero as much as possible and as far as I am concerned, I will not dwell on that. Doon ako sa sinasabi kong papaano maging matino ang pagpapatupad ng Republic Act 6713," Sotto said.

The senator said the proposed legislative inquiry would not ascertain whether Bautista is guilty of amassing ill-gotten wealth while in public office, which was exposed by his estranged wife Patricia Bautista.

Sotto wants the Senate blue ribbon committee to conduct the investigation but its chair, Senator Richard Gordon, seemed hesitant to do it considering Bautista's position as an impeachable official.

Gordon said that senators are mandated to act as judges if and when Bautista is impeached at the House of Representatives.

Sotto said he would talk to Gordon about the issue within the day.

Sotto, however, said the Senate even investigated for more than a year starting in August 2014 allegations that then-Vice President Jejomar Binay enriched himself through corruption while he was mayor of Makati City.

The investigation against Binay, then an impeachable official, was initiated by a Senate blue ribbon sub-committee composed by his critics led by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and now Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.

Binay, who had repeatedly denied the allegations, never appeared at the Senate probe. He is now facing cases in relation to the alleged anonalous construction of the Makati City Hall Building 2 and Makati Science High School. — RSJ, GMA News