Bautista: I bailed my wife out of P3.2-M credit card debt in 2012

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista on Tuesday claimed that he had to "bail out" estranged wife Patricia Bautista from a credit card debt amounting to over  P3 million in 2012.

"Siya she always had a problem with money. In fact ewan ko kung nakita niyo that I had to bail her out of credit card debt in 2012... for P3.2 million... credit card," the Comelec chief said in a press conference.

"To think I gave her an extension card, to think that she had a checkbook from me. I was the one managing the family finances," he added.

Bautista emphasized that money had always been an issue in their marriage.

"If ever we had a primary issue in our marriage, it was how to use money. Hindi ko kinakaila sa inyo, alam ito ng aking mga kapatid, ako medyo kuripot. At gusto ko ring turuan ang aking mga anak, dapat sila they have to live within their means," the poll chief said.

The Bautista couple are in the middle of a bitter spat after Patricia accused her husband of amassing nearly P1 billion in unexplained wealth during his stint in the government, first in the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and then in the Comelec.

Bautista has dismissed his wife's claims, attributing it to their marital problems. —Anna Felicia Bajo/JST/KVD, GMA News