My mother feels she may need protection from Andy someday —Comelec chair's wife

Patricia Bautista, the estranged wife of Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista, on Tuesday provided a possible explanation as to why her own mother is siding with her husband in the ongoing rift between them.

"Andy [Andres Bautista] came out in another interview and he was basically saying how his family was behind him. In fact my mother is behind him," she said in an interview on ANC.

"Well, there's a lot of history there but I mean I'm sure there's a lot of parental fondness for Andy," she added.

Mrs. Bautista, however, said her own mother may be looking to the Comelec chair, who is a lawyer, to protecting her someday.

"But it also is another thing that through Divina Law, um, Divina Law holds my stepfather's estate which technically at the end of the day, knock on wood, if something were to happen to my stepfather will end up being my mother's estate. Now if something were to happen to my stepfather, I'm sure my mom feels she will need protection from Andy," she said.

"So does that explain why she's on his side? I don't know, you decide, right?" Mrs. Bautista added.

Mrs. Bautista is the daughter of Baby Cruz, who in 2016 married Dr. Danny Vasquez, widower of Ising Madrigal-Vasquez, whose business interests are in shipping and other industries.

On Monday, after Mrs. Bautista exposed what she said was the Comelec chair's alleged ill-gotten wealth amounting to almost P1 billion, her husband said their family, including her side, also supposedly remains supportive of his actions.

"Kasama ko po ang buong pamilyang Bautista at ng kanyang pamilya, ang Cruz-Vazquez, sa labang ito at ipapakita po namin na ito po ay isang kaso ng pangingikil at panggigipit," Bautista said. —KG/KVD/JST, GMA News