Poll chief Bautista skips House hearing on postponement of SK, barangay polls

Embattled Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista on Monday skipped the House hearing on the proposed postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

In an August 10 letter addressed to CIBAC party-list Representative Sherwin Tugna, chair of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, Bautista said he could not attend the hearing as he had a prior commitment.

"It is unfortunate that I will not be able to attend because of a prior engagement in Davao City as the Comelec will conduct a public hearing on the postponement of barangay and SK elections in the entire Mindanao," Bautista's letter, read by Commissioner Arthur Lim, who attended the hearing in Bautista's behalf, stated.

The entire island of Mindanao is currently under an extended martial law due to the May 23 attack by the ISIS-inspired Maute group on Marawi City, a conflict that has dragged on for close to three months now.

Kabayan party-list Representative Harry Roque questioned the absence of Bautista at the hearing.

"I actually am a bit confused as to the reason given by Chairman Bautista. He opted to go to the public hearing on the postponement of the same elections that we will discuss today," he said.

"I wonder why the chairman would give priority to a public hearing compared to a session of Congress considering the passing of a law on the postponement of the barangay elections," Roque added.

Roque then asked Lim if the recent events involving Bautista have affected his functions as head of the commission and the institution itself.

Bautista is currently embroiled in a controversy after his estranged wife, Patricia, claimed that he has ill-gotten wealth amounting to P1 billion.

Lim, however, assured the legislators that the Comelec, with or without Bautista, is functioning as it should be.

"To say that the present controversy is not affecting at all the chairman or the institution is perhaps to make an understatement," Lim said.

"We are a collegial body and with or without him, the Comelec will continue to function. And even if the commission is involved in this controversy... it is work as usual," he added.

Whether he will remain at his post, take a leave of absence or resign, Lim said,  is Bautista's "judgment call" to make.

"That we will know in the next few days," Lim said.  —KBK/KVD, GMA News