No more Senate impeachment trial for poll chief, says Sotto

Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista LYN RILLON / INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Senate would no longer hold an impeachment trial for poll chief Andres Bautista once it receives official word from Malacañang that President Rodrigo Duterte accepted his resignation, according to Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III.

Sotto on Saturday said that the Senate must be formally informed by the Office of the President that Mr. Duterte had accepted Bautista’s resignation, which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair said would take effect on Dec. 31, 2017.

“If the President accepted his resignation, we should be sent a copy so we don’t have to convene [as an impeachment court]. We cannot just get the information from the media,” Sotto said in a radio interview.

In an interview with the government-run TV station PTV aired on Friday night, Mr. Duterte said he had accepted Bautista’s resignation.

The House of Representatives impeached Bautista on Wednesday just hours after he announced that he was stepping down at the end of the year.

“I don’t know if you can still impeach him or not because by resigning, he has removed himself from [the Comelec],” the President said in the PTV interview, which was recorded on Thursday.

“But what was on my mind really was, the other day, if Bautista steps down it would be better. There would be no more trouble,” he said.

Several senators have said they would have to proceed with Bautista’s trial after the House transmitted the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has warned that the passage of two major bills—the proposed 2018 national budget and the tax reform package—would take a backseat once the Senate commenced the impeachment trial.

Congress has gone on a break until Nov. 13.

“Our calendar is too tight and the impeachment case will eat up a lot of our time when we resume session in November. Legislative work will be seriously affected and that is a matter that the leadership should highly consider,” Drilon said.

In a forum on Wednesday shortly after he announced his resignation, Bautista said he delayed stepping down so that his successor would be given time for “a smooth transition.”

“It’s hard when you’re suddenly thrust into the position,” Bautista said. “I will prepare a memorandum to my successor to identify the issues to be focused on. I’ve always believed that succession planning is a very important component in an organization.”

House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said it was “unfortunate” that Bautista did not inform the House of his plan to resign, which the Comelec chief announced the same day the lawmakers were scheduled to discuss his impeachment case.

He said Bautista was aware that the House was going to consider his impeachment on that day.

Fariñas said there was no more need for the justice committee to determine the substance of the impeachment complaint against Bautista because the plenary had already ruled on it.

He disputed the contention of Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman that the committee should have been allowed to thresh out the substance of the complaint before preparing the articles of impeachment.

“The Committee has to follow the House, which by a vote of more than one-third of all its members, decided to impeach Bautista,” Fariñas said.

The justice committee could no longer determine the sufficiency of the impeachment complaint’s substance since the House had spoken and impeached Bautista, he added.

Bautista was accused of betrayal of public trust and culpable violations of the Constitution for not declaring his true wealth in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, as well as for graft and corruption for allegedly receiving commissions from DivinaLaw, the legal counsel of Venezuelan election technology supplier and Comelec’s biggest contractor Smartmatic.

The impeachment complaint was filed by former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras based partly on allegations made by Bautista’s estranged wife, Patricia. It was endorsed by Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia, Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque and Cavite Rep. Abraham Tolentino.

The marriage troubles between Bautista and his wife were a “blessing in disguise” because it uncovered the “very mind-boggling” wealth that the Comelec chief accumulated, Paras told reporters when he filed the complaint in August.

“Whatever quarrels they have, at the end of the day, this is beyond domestic quarrel,” Paras said then. —WITH REPORTS FROM LEILA B. SALAVERRIA AND JULIE M. AURELIO