Law firm to file libel charges vs. Comelec chair's wife 

A law firm said on Wednesday that it will file libel charges against Patricia Bautista, the estranged wife of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista, for linking the firm to the ill-gotten wealth allegations against the poll chief.

Without addressing the allegations, Nilo Divina, managing partner and founder of DivinaLaw, said the libel case would cover Patricia and all persons "who aided, abetted, assisted and conspired with her in weaving false stories against the firm."

Patricia's camp shrugged off the impending libel case with one of her lawyers saying the "truth is on her side."

"She is not afraid of anything. God will take care of the rest," Patricia's legal counsel, Martin Loon, told GMA News Online.

Patricia said she found bank and real property documents in the name of her husband and his relatives that were not reflected in Bautista's 2016 Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) amounting to nearly P1 billion.

Apart from undeclared assets, Patricia also claimed to have found "several checks and commission sheets" issued by Divina in Bautista's name and his family members.

Patricia claimed that Bautista had received commissions from DivinaLaw for "assisting the law firm clients with the Comelec."

DivinaLaw is said to be the legal counsel of Smartmatic, a Venezuelan poll technology provider that bagged contracts for the implementation of the 2010, 2013 and 2016 automated elections.

"Based on the documents I found, Nilo issued several checks in Andy's name and that of his family members, as Andy's commission for the law firm's clients with the Comelec," she said in her affidavit submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on August 1.

"What made me highly suspicious is that Nilo's law firm has been handling, among others, government clients such as BASECO (Bataan Shipyard and Engineering Co. Inc.) and UCPB (United Coconut Planters Bank), two government entities that Andy constantly dealt with while he was the PCGG (Presidential Commission on Good Government) chairman," the affidavit stated.

Bautista used to head the PCGG, which is tasked to recover the ill-gotten wealth of late President Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies, before he was appointed Comelec chairman by then-President Benigno Aquino III in 2015.

"I created an impression, based on the breakdown sheets and checks I found that Andy was getting commissions, while he was/is in active government service," Patricia said.

Bautista confirmed on Monday that referral fees were paid by DivinaLaw but never for companies where he will have potential conflict of interest given his position as a government official.

Patricia said Divina, also dean of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law, is one of the best friends of her husband and godfather to their eldest son Xavier.

Divina is also the lawyer of Patricia's stepfather Dr. Daniel Vazquez. —ALG/KVD, GMA News