MANILA - The brother of elections chief Andres Bautista on Monday described as a complete lie rumors that the poll chief rigged the polls to favor Vice-President Leni Robredo.

Dr. Martin Bautista, a gastroenterologist in Oklahoma, said the controversy his brother found himself in is "such a mess."

He said he flew in from the US to "mitigate" the suffering that his nephews are experiencing and to "make sure that we, Filipinos, have to safeguard our electoral process."

"Wag tayong magsisiraan, especially about the elections because itong mga chismis na si (Leni) Robredo tuloy ang naging vice president dahil sa kapatid ko—that’s a complete lie," he told ANC's Early Edition.

(Let us not malign each other, especially about the elections because this rumor that Leni Robredo became the vice president because of my brother is a complete lie.)

"Let’s not destroy our country by putting these. Wala naman, puro chismis yun, unsubstantiated. To think, can a commissioner of the elections really change the outcome? I don’t think so," he said.

(Let us not destroy out country by putting these. These are all rumors, unsubstantiated. To think, can a commissioner of the elections really change the outcome? I don’t think so.)

The election chief's wife, Patricia, last week claimed she had discovered bank and real property documents and several passbooks under her husband's name that were not included in his 2016 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

• READ: Comelec chief's wife shows passbooks, cash in envelopes, commission sheet

Her accusation came just days after they met with President Rodrigo Duterte, whom the poll chief said gave them marital advice.

The Comelec chief earlier denied her allegations in a press conference, accusing her instead of extortion and of having an affair.

He also said his wife's accusation may have been politically motivated, given that she supposedly met with several political personalities recently.

Asked if their meeting with Duterte was set up by anyone from the camp of losing vice presidential bet Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Bautista only smiled and said: "No comment."

Patricia and her lawyer, Martin Loon, also denied that the meeting was set up by Marcos or his wife, Liza.

Marcos currently has a pending electoral protest after losing to Robredo by roughly 200,000 votes, protest assailing the election results in over 39,000 clustered precincts.

COMELEC CHAIR'S SALN IS TRUTHFUL

During the interview, Martin said his brother had assured him that his SALN "is going to coincide with whatever I told them."

"Sinabi ko sa kapatid ko: alam mo, corruption, masama yan. I told him, kung totoo ito, magpakamatay ka. Seppuku ang tawag diyan ng mga Hapon. Sabi niya, wala. I believe my brother," he said.

(I told my brother: you know, corruption is bad. I told him, if this this true, just kill yourself. The Japanese call it Seppuku. He said, there is none. I believe my brother.)

"He is that confident that he will not misdeclare, and that’s why I’m here, to back him up," he added.

Martin also said that while he believes Bautista "going away quietly" is the easiest option for the embattled Comelec chair, he is "completely, 100 percent" sure that investigators will not find any trace of corruption in his brother.

He added, Bautista is willing to face impeachment complaints in the House of Representatives "to clear his name and to make sure that people are aware that no cheating happened in the elections."

• Bautista's brother claims $1.7-M in joint investments with poll chief