NEW YORK – Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista, who is facing bribery charges in the United States, is not in US custody, an official said Thursday.
“Mr. Bautista is not in US custody, and we decline to comment beyond our press release,” said US Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson Nicole Navas Oxman in an email to GMA Integrated News.
There is currently no information on Bautista’s whereabouts. His two co-defendants — Venezuelan-American Roger Piñate and Jorge Miguel Vásquez — surrendered to authorities on Monday and are currently out on bail.
Piñate, founder of the voting machine company Smartmatic, posted an $8.5 million bail while Vasquez, the firm’s former vice president for development, posted $1 million.
Piñate and Vasquez, both Florida residents, are facing charges of foreign corruption and money laundering and have each entered a not guilty plea.
Aside from Bautista, the other accused, Elie Moreno, has also yet to appear in court.
Piñate and Vásquez are accused of paying $1 million in bribes to Bautista.
Court records, including a criminal complaint from Homeland Security Investigations, show that Smartmatic’s contracts with the Philippines generated $199 million by providing voting machines and other services for the May 2016 elections.
In a previous post on X, Bautista denied the allegations, saying the charges against him “were politically influenced by key Philippine officials.” He did not elaborate.
Referring to Smartmatic, he said “[t]he 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 vowed to “fight for my exoneration” in court.
Piñate, along with Venezuelans Antonio Mugica and Alfredo José Anzola, founded Smartmatic in 2000. —KBK, GMA Integrated News
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