Complainant bares more allegations vs. Comelec chair Bautista

Former Negros Oriental Representative Jacinto Paras, the complainant who caused the impeachment of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista, on Thursday revealed additional allegations against the poll chief.

At a press conference, Paras showed to the media a copy of the report of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) on its investigation into alleged corruption and unexplained wealth of Bautista during his term as its chairman.

Bautista was appointed PCGG chairman in August 2010 and took his oath a month later. He ended his term on April 2015 after he was appointed by then-President Benigno Aquino III as Comelec chief.

Paras said he acquired the document from incumbent PCGG chief Rey Munsayac, who met with him along with two commissioners.

"And at that moment, they revealed to me the anomalies also of Chairman Andres Bautista when he was still PCGG chairman," he said.

In the report, the PCGG said Bautista has cash disbursements from the Philippine National Bank (PNB) escrow accounts of the PCGG, which remain unliquidated until now.

The Commission on Audit (COA), in its annual audit report for 2011, said the disbursements from the PNB escrow accounts amounting to P33,523,224.81 were "not documented, thus, regularity, validity and correctness of the transactions could not be determined," the report cited.

Paras said the Bautista has failed to address the issue even with the COA audit. "That alone constitute a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act," he said.

Bautista has already expressed his intention to resign from his post by the end of the year.

Ghost employees

Aside from this, the PCGG, in the report, said Bautista engaged services from "ghost" employees.

These include a certain Jose Pery, hired as Consultant for Business and Information, Howard Vitas as consultant, Atty. Harvey Lawrence Dychiao as consultant, and Alfredo Jose Cruz as senior administrative assistant.

Several employees of the PCGG stated in their affidavits that they only saw the alleged "ghost" employees only once or none at all.

"Based on the foregoing facts, Chairman Bautista violated Section 3(e) of the RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) in having the PCGG engage the services of the aforementioned officials," the report read.

"Itong ghost employees cause undue injury to the government," Paras added.

Bautista had earlier denied having ghost employees, saying the persons mentioned by his accusers were hired as consultants.

Gift checks

Moreover, the PCGG said Bautista, as director and president of the Bataan Shipyard and Engineering Corporation Inc. (BASECO) and Independent Realty Corporation (IRC) group, had received from 2011 to 2015 "an unliquidated amount" of SM gift checks amounting to P910,000, and SODEXO gift checks amounting to P665,000 from the Independent Realty Corporation, which he headed as director and president.

He also received in 2012 a total of P400,000 of SODEXO gift checks from BASECO, which he also headed.

This, the PCGG said, makes Bautista liable for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

"The subject gift checks were purchased by using the funds of a sequestered and a surrendered corporation, whose proceeds are supposed to be remitted to the Bureau of Treasury," the report said.

"Chairman Bautista consciously breached his duty to safeguard the funds of the said corporation for the Republic. Hence, he manifested evident bad faith," it added.

Divina Law engagement

The PCGG added that the Divina Law has been engaged by BASECO in four projects/cases, during the time Bautista was the latter's president.

These cases include:

• BASECO's resignation as a locator in the Freeport Area of Bataan
• Legal representation in cases, legal audit and evaluation of BASECO, and corporate clean up and documentation
• The case of Prospero Maligalig against Bautista which was then pending before the Office of the Ombudsman
• Petition for Reissuance of New Owner's Duplicate Copy of TCT No. 147603 in the Register of Deeds for the City of Manila
• The PCGG said Bautista, in committing such acts, violated Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act when he accepted and adhered to the legal opinion of Divina Law to transfer BASECO's principal place of business from Manila to Bataan for the purpose of registering with FAB and availing of its benefits.

Bautista also allegedly violated the law when he approved the payment for Divina Law with excessive billings and when he engaged the services of the law offices without retainer agreement.

Abuse of gov't vehicles

The PCGG said Bautista committed unauthorized use of government-owned motor vehicles issued to him as head of BASECO and IRC group for 14 months even as he had already resigned from the corporations.

Four motor vehicles were issued to Bautista as head of such corporations. But over the period of April 28, 2015 to June 27, 2016, when Bautista was already the Comelec chief, gasoline consumption expenses were incurred from two of the four government-owned vehicles.

The PCGG said with Bautista's act, he "caused the said PCGG-administered corporations to incur expenses thereof," a violation of the Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

"Instead na magamit ito ng gobyerno, they were all commandered by Chairman Bautista which is abuse of government vehicles is a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act," Paras said.

Anomalous payments of membership dues to private organization

Moreover, the PCGG said Bautista caused BASECO to have "unwarranted expenses" for payment of membership dues to private organizations Young Presidents' Organization and Women Presidents' Organization Philippines Inc.

"Wala na siya sa PCGG, may mga membership siya sa mga international corporations, and yet based on the audit of PCGG, nagbabayad pa rin yung mga sequestered companies sa kanyang mga expenses in these corporations," Paras said.

The PCGG said Bautista abused the funds of BASECO when it paid the membership dues for the private corporations.

Opening of many accounts with Luzon Development Bank

The PCGG report said Bautista had authorized the opening of 316 short-lived bank accounts with the Luzon Development Bank, to which the funds of the BASECO, IRC group and its subsidiary Mid-Pasig would be placed.

"In selecting LDB over all other banks... [Bautista] exhibits manifest partiality over LDB. Such that, Chairman Bautista gave unwarranted benefits, advantage and preference to LDB," the report read.

Paras, on the other hand, surmised that Bautista's act may have something to do with his alleged ill-gotten wealth, which ended up in the bank accounts found and revealed by his wife, Patricia.

"Ito pong lahat na ito, according to PCGG, these are all grounds for culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption and betrayal of public trust," Paras said.

He added that Munsayac and the two commissioners of the PCGG are more than willing to testify against Bautista if the impeachment case proceeds to trial at the Senate.

The House of Representatives, with a vote 137-75-2, rejected the adoption of the Committee on Justice report dismissing the impeachment complaint against Bautista.

Following the reversal of the dismissal of the complaint, the House justice panel is tasked to prepare the articles of impeachment against Bautista. —KBK, GMA News