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Ex-solon asks NBI for documents to support impeach rap vs. Bautista


Former Negros Oriental Representative Jacinto Paras on Monday asked the National Bureau of Investigation for copies of documents needed to support the impeachment complaint he is set to file against Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista.

Paras, through counsel Manuelito Luna of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), asked NBI Director Dante Gierran for a certified true copy of the affidavit filed by Bautista's estranged wife, Patricia, in which she claimed that her husband amassed unexplained wealth amounting to nearly P1 billion.

The former lawmaker also wanted to get hold of copies of the 35 Luzon Development Bank passbooks, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation peso account documents and other documents forwarded by Patricia's camp to the NBI, which is currently looking into her allegations on orders of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.

“Our said client is resorting to this request owing to the fact that the Committee on Justice of the House of Representatives will not accept any documents other than certified or original, appended to impeachment complaints,” the letter stated.

"In the case of the impeachment against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, complainants VACC and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. had to request from the honorable Supreme Court en banc in order to meet such stringent requirement of the Committee on Justice."

Paras will also request a copy of Bautista's 2016 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) from the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Comelec chief declared a net worth of P176.3 million last year, but Patricia said that she found bank and real property documents in her husband's name and those of his relatives that were not reflected in Bautista's 2016 SALN.

She also pointed to the possibility that her husband may have kept ghost employees during his stint as chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and claimed that Bautista had received commissions from Nilo Divina, managing partner of the DivinaLaw office, for "assisting the law firm's clients with the Comelec."

Bautista earlier said that his family had received a draft of an impeachment complaint to be filed against him.

He alleged the draft was sent to his family in an attempt to pressure him to sign a settlement agreement with his estranged wife amounting to P620 million.

Bautista had slammed allegations of ill-gotten wealth as "all lies."

He said his estranged wife 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." — BM, GMA News

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