Ex-Comelec chief faces US bribery, launder raps

Bautista: Charges politically influenced

MANILA, Philippines — A federal grand jury in the United States has indicted former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista and three officials of vote counting machine provider Smartmatic for alleged bribery and money laundering in relation to the 2016 elections in the Philippines.

Bautista was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments, according to a press statement from the US Justice Department.

Also indicted were Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez, Jorge Miguel Vasquez and Elie Moreno, described as “three executives of an election voting machine and service provider company.”

Smartmatic was not specifically identified by the US Justice Department, but a cursory search of the company’s website and previous reports confirm the accused’s links to the election technology provider.

Piñate, currently listed as director of the Smartmatic Global Board, was a company co-founder and served as its president.

Vasquez was vice president for external operations, while Moreno – who was also general manager of Smartmatic Philippines – was vice president of the company’s global services unit.

According to the US Justice Department, Piñate and Vasquez “allegedly caused at least $1 million in bribes” to be paid to Bautista.

“These bribes were allegedly paid to obtain and retain business related to providing voting machines and election services for the 2016 Philippine elections and to secure payments on the contracts, including the release of value added tax payments,” read the press release.

They allegedly funded the bribes through a slush fund created by over-invoicing the cost of voting machines used in the 2016 elections in the Philippines.

“To conceal and disguise the nature and purpose of the corrupt payments, the co-conspirators used coded language to refer to the slush fund and caused the creation of fraudulent contracts and sham loan agreements to justify transfers,” the US Justice Department said.

“The co-conspirators then allegedly laundered funds related to the bribery scheme through bank accounts located in Asia, Europe and the United States, including in the Southern District of Florida,” it added.

Piñate and Vasquez were each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one substantive violation of the FCPA, while Bautista, Piñate, Vasquez and Moreno were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments.

The US Justice Department stressed that an indictment is merely an allegation and “all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”

If convicted, Piñate and Vasquez could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the FCPA charges, while the four could each face a maximum penalty of 20 years for each count of the laundering charges.

The US Justice Department said the Philippine Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman provided substantial assistance to the investigation. The indictment was issued by the federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida.

On X , Bautista claimed the charges were “politically influenced by key Philippine officials.”

“The voting machine company won the contract before, during and after my tenure as chairman, a role I performed during the 2016 elections with zeal and competence in service of the Filipino people,” he wrote.

“I will fight for my exoneration in court and show that I have not committed any crime against the US government or the American people nor have I taken advantage or prejudiced them in any way,” he added.

He did not identify the Philippine officials who supposedly influenced the charges.

Bautista in US custody?

Based on information received by The STAR, Bautista is already “under custody by the US authorities” and that he may enter into a plea bargain deal to testify against the other respondents.

It was unclear if Bautista was arrested or if he voluntarily surrendered to authorities as the US Justice Department statement did not mention the issuance of an arrest warrant.

Bautista was reportedly taken into custody somewhere in Canada, where he supposedly settled after leaving the Philippines amid a slew of charges and allegations of unexplained wealth.

He resigned as Comelec chief in 2017 following the filing of an impeachment complaint against him at the House of Representatives.

The Senate also issued an arrest warrant against him after he failed to attend a hearing that year.

His estranged wife, Patricia, had accused him of having unexplained wealth, which he vehemently denied.

Bautista served as chair of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, the agency tasked to run after the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family and their cronies, prior to his appointment to Comelec in 2015.

In a statement, Smartmatic said two of its employees indicted – Piñate and Moreno – have been placed on leave of absence “regardless of the veracity of the allegations,” while Velasquez had “ceased to be part of the company since several years ago.”

Smartmatic noted that no voter fraud has been alleged and the firm is not indicted.

“Voters worldwide must be assured that the elections they participate in are conducted with the utmost integrity and transparency. These are the values that Smartmatic lives,” the firm said.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said he is still giving the personalities involved in the bribery issue the benefit of the doubt. “Let’s presume everyone innocent until the guilt is proved,” said Garcia.

However, the elections chief added that the development had somehow vindicated the present Comelec.

“It would appear to be a sort of vindication on the part of the present Commission. We were right all along when we disqualified Smartmatic,” Garcia said.

In a statement issued in 2023, Smartmatic maintained that it “has adhered to the Philippine Procurement Law and the strict controls that the Philippine Commission on Elections imposes” in every bidding process and procurement procedure.

“Winning a bid in the Philippines is never solely one individual’s preference or decision. Instead, multiple technical evaluations are conducted by committees, ensuring that the bidders comply with all the requirements specified in the Terms of Reference,” Smartmatic said.

Smartmatic said all of these assessments are presented to a bids and awards committee, which recommends a choice of winning bidder to the Comelec convened as a whole.

“Dozens of technical, commercial and administrative officials have a say in selecting the provider. Over the years Smartmatic has both won and lost bids in the Philippines. It is important to note that nothing about this investigation has anything to do with election security or integrity,” it added.

Smartmatic at the time said it would cooperate with investigating authorities. — Rhodina Villanueva