House panel defers Comelec budget briefing due to Bautista's absence

The House committee on appropriations on Wednesday deferred the budget hearing for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) due to the absence of Chairman Andres Bautista.

During the briefing for the agency's P16 billion budget for 2018, Comelec executive director Jose Tolentino said Bautista could not attend the proceeding as he had to meet with the guidance counselor for his children.

Bautista had issued an internal memorandum in the agency instructing Commissioner Arthur Lim and Al Parreno to attend the briefing.

The Comelec chief, however, had no official communication with the House panel that he could not attend the hearing.

Because of this, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman moved to defer the briefing.

Lim, in a manifestation, apologized to the House panel for Bautista's absence and pleaded that they be allowed to present their budget.

But House panel chairman Karlo Nograles decided to just defer the briefing to Thursday.

"We are willing to give the Comelec a chance again tomorrow," he said.

Nograles advised the commissioners to be present in the next briefing along with Bautista.

"We direct Comelec to ensure that you are all present together with your chairman. Otherwise, if the chair will not show himself, you may suffer the consequences," he said.

Last week, the Comelec chief also failed to attend the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms' inquiry into the proposed postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to May 2018.

Bautista is currently embroiled in a controversy after his estranged wife Patricia revealed that he has unexplained wealth worth P1 billion.

Lawyers are scheduled to file an impeachment complaint at the House against Bautista later today. —ALG, GMA News