Comelec chief denies corruption claims, accuses wife of extortion

ABS-CBN News

MANILA - (UPDATED) Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista on Monday denied his wife&#x27;s claim that he did not declare P1 billion of his wealth and accused her of attempting to extort money from him and having an affair.&quot;Hindi po totoo iyang mga paratang na iyan. Matagal na po kaming may problemang mag-asawa na ngayon ay nababahiran na ng pulitika. Kasama ko po ang aking pamilya ng Bautista at pati na po ang kanyang pamilya, ang Cruz family, sa labang ito,&quot; Bautista told radio DZMM.&quot;Ipapakita po namin na ito ay isang kasong pangingikil at panggigipit. Ako po ang biktima rito -- biktima po ng pagtataksil at paggagahasa sa aking sariling pamamahay.&quot;(There is no truth to that allegation. We have had marital problems long ago and it now being tainted by politics. My whole family and her family is with me in this fight. We will prove that this is a case or extortion and coercion. I am a victim here, a victim of betrayal and rape of my own household.)The <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/920862/wife-says-poll-chief-has-unexplained-wealth">Inquirer reported</a> Sunday that Bautista&#x27;s wife Patricia claimed she had discovered bank and real property documents, and several passbooks under her husband&#x27;s name that were not included in his 2016 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).Patricia reportedly submitted an affidavit last week, alleging that Bautista &quot;might have had, or currently has, misdealing and corrupt practices while in government service.&quot;<div>CUCKOLDED, ROBBED, SLANDERED </div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wWwWO2nCKRU" width="560"></iframe></figure>In his DZMM interview, Bautista revealed that he has had problems with his wife since 2013 due to her alleged affair.&quot;Itong problema pong ito ay nagsimula noong 2013 dahil mukhang mayroon po siyang third party at ito po ay alam ng marami,&quot; he claimed, adding that his wife&#x27;s supposed lover was once linked to another famous personality.(This problem started in 2013 because it seemed there was a third party and this was known to many.)Bautista said he stayed in his marriage and underwent counseling with his wife for the sake of their 4 children.His marital woes however allegedly took a turn for the worse in November 2016, when he went to a trip to the US.Bautista claimed that Patricia used the overseas trip to withdraw $117,000 from their joint account and transferred it to her personal account.When he got home, she also allegedly refused to let him enter their condominium unit.After hours of pleading, Bautista said Patricia let him inside their home, only to find out that his locked cabinets were opened and that various documents have gone missing, including his bank passbooks.The bank documents, he said, were &quot;doctored&quot; as evidence for his wife&#x27;s affidavit.&quot;In this situation, I am the victim. I am the victim of betrayal,&quot; he said in a separate ANC interview&quot;I never thought a man could be raped. That is how I felt when I was prevented from entering my own house, when all of a sudden , the locked cabinets belonged to me were forced open, documents were taken without my consent.&quot;Bautista also said his wife also demanded P1 billion in exchange for not going public with her allegations. He also accused Patricia of leaking &quot;blind items&quot; about him.&quot;Noong una po itong lumabas, hindi nga po P1 bilyon, sabi P2 bilyon, iyun daw pag-aari ko. At ang hinihingi nila (Patricia at mga abogado), P1 billion plus 2 condo units,&quot; he claimed.(When this first came out, it was not even P1 billion, I allegedly owned P2 billion. They were asking for P1 billion plus 2 condo units.)&quot;Kung ano-anong blind item ang inilalabas tungkol sa akin, ako raw ay bakla, ako raw ay mayroong anak sa labas. Kung mababasa niyo lang. &#x27;Di ko lang pinatulan dahil bata pa ang aking mga anak.&quot;(So many blind items were released about me, alleging I was gay, I had illegitimate children. If only you could read them. I kept silent because I have young children.)<div>NO CORRUPTION </div>The Comelec chief denied that he has 35 accounts at the Luzon Development Bank with a total balance of P329,220,962, as alleged by his wife.&quot;Totoo po na ang aming pamilya at ako ay mayroon mga bank accounts sa Luzon Development Bank, pero hindi po 35. At iyun pong numero na nilagay d&#x27;yan ay napakataas.&quot;(It&#x27;s true that my family and I have bank accounts in Luzon Development Bank but not 35. The alleged number is too high.)He added that his separate account at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. only has about P250,000 -- not P640,959.53, like Patricia claimed.Bautista said he had no account with HSBC.He also said his wife&#x27;s allegations may have been politically motivated, given that she supposedly met with several political personalities recently.&quot;Siguro sa mga susunod na araw, malalaman at malalaman din po iyan,&quot; he said, adding that he is preparing legal steps against his spouse.(In the coming days, that will be revealed.)<div>MEETING WITH DUTERTE </div>Patricia&#x27;s allegation came just days after President Rodrigo Duterte met with her, her parents and Bautista in Malacañang last August 1.&quot;He gave me very good family advice and I explained to him my side... He was very kind to us. He was hoping that we would amicably settle,&quot; Bautista said of the meeting.&quot;I thought the things were heading in the right direction. And then all of a sudden there was this NBI affidavit that came out.&quot;ABS-CBN News is trying to reach out to Bautista&#x27;s wife for comment.

Commission on Elections Chair Andres Bautista on Monday denied his wife's claim that he has amassed nearly P1 billion worth of ill-gotten wealth, accusing her instead of attempting to extort money from him and having an affair.

Commission on Elections Chair Andres Bautista on Monday denied his wife's claim that he has amassed nearly P1 billion worth of ill-gotten wealth, accusing her instead of attempting to extort money from him and having an affair.