QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said that Malacañang will respect the decision of Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Andres Bautista to resign from his post, effective December 31, 2017.
“We respect the decision of Chairman Andy Bautista. We wish him well,” Presidential Communications secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement.
Effective the end of the year, Bautista will be stepping down from his position.
In his social media accounts, Bautista posted statements about his resignation, saying that this is the proper time for him to resign as the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections have been postponed.
Bautista cited family matters as the main reason for his resignation.
“This was not an easy decision. But my family, especially my children, need me now more than ever,” Bautista said in his letter.
“I believe I have served our Commission well and the Filipino people to the best of my ability, but only with your faithful help and constant support,” Bautista told the COMELEC.
However, a few hours after he declared his intention to resign, the House of Representatives voted to impeach him, overwhelmingly voting to overturn the decision of the House Committee on Justice which had earlier junked the impeachment complaint against Bautista for insufficiency of form.
With a vote of 137 for the impeachment of Bautista, the House of Representatives directed the House Justice Committee to prepare the Articles of Impeachment for submission to the Senate, which will then act as the Impeachment Court.
Only 75 lawmakers voted to uphold the earlier move of the House Justice Committee to dismiss the impeachment complaint, while two lawmakers abstained from voting.
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