Corruption claims vs. Comelec chief taint integrity of 2016 poll results —Bongbong camp

The corruption accusations hurled against Comelec chair Andres Bautista by his wife casts doubt on the credibility of the results of the 2016 national elections.

This according to lawyer Vic Rodriguez, legal counsel for former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who is currently contesting the May 2016 victory of his poll rival Vice President Leni Robredo.

"Ito nga ho, meron nang mga lumalabas na, apparently, based on the affidavit, tumatanggap ng commission kung kanino. That speaks volumes on the integrity of the 2016 elections as far as we're concerned," Rodriguez said in an Unang Balita interview.

Bautista's wife has accused him of amassing ill-gotten wealth from supposed "misdealings and corrupt practices." 

Rodriguez also echoed the statement of his client denying rumors that implied Marcos and his wife, Louise "Liza," brokered the meeting between Patricia and President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Bakit hindi sabihin kung ano yung source na yan? Because as far as we are concerned, sinagot na rin po ni Senador Marcos kahapon, hindi ho kami nakikialam sa usapin, lalo pa, sa away mag-asawa," Rodriguez said in an interview on Unang Balita on Thursday.

Marcos himself denied that his wife facilitated the meeting between the wife of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista and Duterte as they had no personal interest in the affairs of the couple.

Patricia's lawyers insisted that neither of the Marcoses had a hand in arranging the meeting, that Mrs. Bautista requested it to tell the president of the ill-gotten wealth her husband allegedly acquired during his time in government.

Rodriguez repeated that Marcos' wife and Patricia did not know each other and that it was the latter's lawyer Martin Loon who is acquainted with Marcos' wife, as Loon may have been frequently thrown in their company during the 2016 election season.

"I think because nagkasama ho yan during the campaign sorties, because tumakbo si Col. Querubin noon under, if I'm not mistaken, Nacionalista party rin," he explained, referring to retired Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, Loon's father.

In the May 2016 polls, Querubin ran (but lost) for senator under the Nacionalista party, of which Marcos is a member.

"So nagkaroon somehow ng connection or pagkakaibigan and since mas bata po yung lawyer, he addresses them as tito at tita," Rodriguez continued.

Whatever fate awaits Chairman Bautista as a result of the controversy, Rodriguez said their camp will continue pursuing their electoral protest against Robredo.

"Whether magtuloy yung kaso o impeachment ni Chairman Bautista, it's for the congressmen to endorse it. Kami ho, focused kami sa election protest dahil kahit naman ho matanggal yan sa pwesto, mag-resign o mag-leave, wala naman hong benepisyo sa amin sapagkat nadaya na nga si Senador Marcos eh," Rodriguez said. — Rie Takumi/MDM/KVD, GMA News