Lawyer denies poll chief Bautista's claim vs. wife

The lawyer of Patricia Paz Bautista, wife of Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson Andres Bautista, on Monday denied that she exposed her husband's alleged ill-gotten wealth to extort money from him.

In a report by GMA News' Ivan Mayrina on 24 Oras, Mrs. Bautista's legal counsel, Marlon Loon, said Bautista has neither proof that his wife had an extramarital affair nor basis to claim that she stole from him.

"Wala pong extortion ang nagaganap, dahil inaareglo lang namin kung paano ise-separate 'yung absolute community property nung mag-asawa," Loon said.

The report said Bautista refused to sign a P620-million settlement for their separation as proposed by Mrs. Bautista.

Loon showed Mayrina a text from Bautista telling his wife that she should get "zero" or nothing from their separation.

No affair

Loon also refuted claims made by Bautista that his wife had a romantic affair with another man.

"That allegation is not true and there's no proof to that allegation," Loon said.

"She admits that she's close to this person concerned, close lang as friends, but it wasn't anything romantic or wasn't anything in breach of her marital obligations to her spouse," the lawyer added without naming the person.

Loon also said Bautista is remiss with his financial obligations to his children.

Mrs. Bautista has accused her husband of amassing ill-gotten wealth amounting to some P1 billion during his stint in the government, first in the Presidential Commission on Good Government and then in the Comelec.

Suspicious deposits

Loon said in the report that Bautista made deposits of less than P500,000 "to avoid detection" from the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

"Sir, kung meron kang malinis na pera, kahit P100 million pa 'yan, kahit P500 million pa 'yan, kahit P1 billion pa 'yan, pero pag malinis 'yung pera mo, hindi mo kailangan itago sa tigfo-P400,000 'yung pag-deposit nun, kasi pwede mong i-justify 'yung source ng pera mo," he said.

Bautista, who was appointed to head the Comelec in 2015 by then-President Benigno Aquino III, has denied his wife's allegations, saying she was just driven by greed.

Based on his 2016 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, Bautista had
a net worth of P176.3 million as of December 31, 2016, making him the richest among the heads of the five constitutional commissions in the government.

The 24 Oras report said the National Bureau of Investigation will be looking into Mrs. Bautista's allegations.

Meeting with Duterte

Meanwhile, when asked by GMA News about the identity of a common friend who supposedly helped Mrs. Bautista seek an audience with President Rodrigo Duterte last month, both did not provide an answer but denied it was the wife of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., lawyer Louise "Liza" Araneta-Marcos.

A picture of the meeting, which took place in Malacañang two days after Duterte's second State of the Nation Address, was shared by Mrs. Duterte's lawyer to GMA News.

Duterte had confirmed that he met with Mrs. Bautista upon the request of her lawyers. He said they informed him of their plan to file a case against Bautista that could affect the integrity of the May 2016 elections.

Duterte said he would not interfere in any impeachment case or investigation against Bautista, and that he had told him to "fix the quarrel with his wife." —Margaret Claire Layug/KBK, GMA News