Patricia Bautista's lawyer: Bongbong, wife did not broker Duterte meeting

A lawyer for Patricia Bautista on Tuesday morning denied that former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his wife set up their meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte last week.

"It's not Tita Liza. If it were her, I would have told you," Martin Loon, Mrs. Bautista's lawyer, said in a television interview.

Loon was referring to the wife of the former senator, Liza Araneta Marcos.

The lawyer made the clarification as rumors circulated on social media that the former senator and his wife facilitated the meeting between Mrs. Bautista and Duterte.

There were also rumors circulating that Mrs. Marcos and Mrs. Bautista were classmates.

In the same television interview, Mrs. Bautista denied that she knew Mrs. Marcos.

"I don't even know Liza Marcos," she said.

Loon said a close friend, who is "very close" to Duterte, brokered the meeting in Malacañang.

The lawyer refused to reveal the identity of his friend. He said he would have to ask for his friend's permission before revealing his identity.

"I don't want to mention his name unless I have his consent," he said.

Mrs. Bautista told Duterte about the supposed ill-gotten wealth of her estranged husband, Commission on Election Chairman Andres Bautista.

During the interview, Mrs. Bautista said she opted to approach "incorruptible" Duterte because she had been told that her estranged husband have friends in "high places." —ALG/KVD, GMA News