Despite 'unfortunate' House decision, Bautista vows to cooperate

MANILA, Philippines — After the House of Representatives voted to impeach him, Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista on Wednesday called the decision "unfortunate" but vowed to abide by the Constitution and follow the rules of the process.

In a statement, Bautista said he acknowledged that each member of the House was entitled to his own opinion.

Bautista said the move might be unnecessary since he had already announced his resignation from his post effective at the end of this year.

"While it may be an unnecessary move since I already tendered my resignation to the president today effective end of the year to ensure a smooth transition, I will abide by the Constitution and the relevant rules regarding the impeachment process," the embattled poll chief said.

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According to Bautista, the decision of the House plenary, voting 137-75-2, to reject the resolution of the Committee on Justice dismissing the impeachment case filed against him by former Rep. Jacinto "Jing" Paras and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio was "unfortunate."

He said that the conclusion of the panel was voted twice, and each time the voting was 26-2 in favor of junking the case.

Paras and Topacio accused Bautista of failing to declare a huge amount of money in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth based on the allegation of the chairman's estranged wife, Patricia, that he had at least a billion in different bank accounts.

They also alleged in their impeachment charge that Bautista committed a betrayal of public trust when he failed to institute measures to protect the poll body from hacking and he did not "promptly" act on the data breach on the Comelec website in the run-up to the national election last year.

The two also accused the poll chairman of obstruction of justice when he exculpated Smartmatic personnel and the IT specialists of the agency after they tweaked a script of a computer program during the canvassing of the results of the 2016 vote.

However, the justice committee chaired by Rep. Reynaldo Umali (Oriental Mindoro) junked the complaint for its insufficiency in form.

Early on Wednesday, Bautista announced his resignation from his job, saying that his family, especially his children, needs him the most now.

"I believe I have served our Commission well and the Filipino people to the best of my ability, but only with your faithful help and constant support," Bautista told the Comelec in a letter explaining his decision.

He said that he is proud of the work he had done in the election body, noting that last year's national vote was hailed as the "best managed and most credible" in the country's history.

Bautista was appointed by former President Benigno Aquino III. Prior to his stint at the commission, he served as the chief of the Presidential Commission on Good Governance which is tasked to recover the loot of the family of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.