(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday was hesitant to comment on the controversy Commission on Elections chief Andres Bautista found himself in following his wife’s allegations of ill-gotten wealth against him.
“There will always be a case filed so I don’t want to preempt what will happen there. Either by the Ombudsman or Congress,” he said in a media briefing on Monday.
According to Duterte, he “might as well just sit down” considering the fact that he would not be investigating anything.
“I’m not a congressman or a senator. Why should I bother? Then you create another controversy,” he said.
Bautista’s wife, Patricia, said in an affidavit submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation on Aug. 1 that her husband might have amassed over P1 billion in ill-gotten wealth.
This was several days after she met with Duterte and told him that she had discovered real property and bank documents, and passbooks under the Conelec chief’s name and some of his relatives.
She said she also discovered her husband had interests abroad ““in the form of his interests in corporations and loan agreements.”
She said all these were not declared in the Comelec chief’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
Senator Tito Sotto has filed resolution no. 456 urging the Senate blue ribbon committee to look into the allegations.
A resolution of the same nature has been filed in the House of Representatives.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre has also ordered an investigation.
