Ex-Comelec chief Bautista says US charges 'influenced' by key PH execs

Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson Andres "Andy" Bautista on Friday said he would "fight" for his exoneration in court after he was indicted in the United States for alleged bribery.

In a post on X on Friday, Bautista said charges against him "were politically influenced by key Philippine officials."

Bautista issued the statement after a US federal grand jury in Florida indicted him for allegedly taking bribes from a company that provided voting machines for the Philippines' 2016 elections.

"I sense these 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,” Bautista said.

"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.

Bautista, 60, is facing one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments, the US Justice Department said in a statement.

Three executives of the voting machine company were also indicted for their roles in an "alleged bribery and money laundering scheme to retain and obtain business related to the 2016 Philippine elections," it added.

The Justice Department did not identify the company but one of the three indicted executives is Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, 49, a Venezuelan citizen and Florida resident who is a co-founder of Smartmatic.

The indictment alleges that between 2015 and 2018, Pinate, Jorge Miguel Vasquez, 62, and others "caused at least $1 million in bribes to be paid" to Bautista.

Pinate and Vasquez are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Like Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Elie Moreno, 44, a dual citizen of Venezuela and Israel, are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments.

The US Justice deparment explained that "an indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."

If convicted, the department said, Pinate and Vasquez each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the FCPA and conspiracy to violate the FCPA counts.

Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Moreno, meanwhile, each face a maximum penalty of 20 years for each count of international laundering of monetary instruments and conspiracy to commit money laundering. —Sundy Mae Locus/KBK, GMA Integrated News