Senate panel to Comelec chief Bautista: Attend probe or submit waiver on bank secrecy

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista should attend the next hearing of the Senate committee investigating his alleged ill-gotten wealth, otherwise, he should submit a waiver on his bank secrecy rights, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Wednesday.

Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies, has directed that an invitation be sent to Bautista.

“[He should be invited] to shed light on this issue or in this matter. Or in the absence thereof, to submit a waiver to the bank; so that the hearings can proceed without any legal stumbling blocks,” Escudero said.

Escudero, a lawyer, noted that a written waiver on bank secrecy will “untie the tongues” of the Luzon Development Bank (LDB) officials.

LDB officials present during the Senate committee hearing refused to provide details on alleged suspicious transactions, citing the law on bank secrecy.

“We take note of the fact that Chairman Bautista has submitted to the existence [of the accounts]...Unfortunately, under the law, that is not enough to answer questions on bank details,” LDB’s lawyer, Francis Lim, told the committee.

“LDB is more than willing to talk if the depositors give consent,” he said.

It was Senator Grace Poe who made the motion to invite Bautista if the Comelec chair is true to his statement that he wants to clear his name.

“Pagkakataon niya na depensahan ang sarili niya at sabihin kung ano yung sa kanya at hindi. At sinabi naman niya galing sa lehitimong hanapbuhay ng kanyang pamilya. Pagkakataon niyang patunayan yun sa pagdinig,” Poe said. 

Bautista’s estranged wife, Patricia Paz Bautista, earlier claimed to have discovered nearly P1 billion in ill-gotten wealth. The Comelec chair supposedly had 35 bank accounts with the LDB containing a total balance of P329,220,962.

The Comelec chairman has said that the accounts claimed by his estranged wife were either closed or fake. — RSJ, GMA News