Andres Bautista seeks time to answer money launder raps

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of former Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista has asked the Senate for more time to submit his affidavit with regard to his alleged violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act as a condition for lifting the warrant of arrest issued against him.

Bautista’s lawyer Anacleto Diaz appeared before the hearing of the Senate committee on banks, currencies and financial institutions yesterday and said his client, who is out of the country, intends to submit the affidavit by March 26.

He noted that many of Bautista’s documents were stolen by his estranged wife Patricia, who has still failed to return these in spite of a writ of habeas data filed with the regional trial court of Makati City.

Diaz said that Bautista is also in the process of reviewing 33 Luzon Development Bank accounts that were identified as his and the subjects of committee’s inquiry.

He said that Bautista intends to prove that he already saved a substantial amount of money even before he joined the government as chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government.

Sen. Francis Escudero, the chairman of the committee, said that the warrant of arrest will remain until Bautista submits his affidavit.