‘Pakamatay ka na kung totoo,’ brother tells Comelec chair amid controversy

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista attends the Fair Elections Act Forum in Intramuros, Manila, in this file photo. INQUIRER PHOTO / ELOISA LOPEZ

The brother of beleaguered Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Andres “Andy” Bautista has advised him to go kill himself if corruption allegations hurled against him were true.

“Sinabi ko sa kapatid ko yon, alam mo corruption masama yan. So I told him, alam mo kung totoo to magpakamatay ka. Sabi nya wala eh and I believe my brother,” Bautista’s older brother, Martin, said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel’s “Early Edition” on Monday.

(I told my brother corruption is bad. So I told him, you know if this is true, you should commit suicide. He denied it, and I believe my brother.)

Martin also expressed confidence that the Comelec chief did not lie about his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) contrary to wife Patricia’s insinuations.

“He is that confident that he would not misdeclare (his SALN). And that’s why I am here, to back him up,” Martin said of his brother.

“Hindi natin alam (We don’t know) if these were fabrications. Hindi natin alam (We don’t know) which one is genuine [or] which one is fake,” he added referring to Patricia’s documents, which the latter claimed as proof of the poll chief’s unexplained wealth.

Martin also dismissed allegations that his brother had allegedly received commissions from Smartmatic, the service provider of the Comelec during the 2016 elections.

“Let Secretary (Vitaliano) Aguirre determine. Let the DOJ determine. Let the BIR determine. Ang hinihiling lang (What we only ask is) complete unadulterated transparency. Wala kaming tinatago walang ninakaw ang kapatid ko (We are not hiding anything, my brother did not steal anything),” he said.

“DOJ” is Department of Justice while “BIR is Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Martin said the allegations against Bautista should not also cast doubt on the results of the 2016 elections.

“This should not taint the elections. This should not cast any doubt on the outcome of the elections. Walang dayaan dun (There was no fraud there),” the Comelec chief’s brother added. CBB