Lawyer threatens more revelations vs Comelec chief

Carmela Fonbuena

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Lawyer threatens more revelations vs Comelec chief
Patricia Bautista sought an audience with President Rodrigo Duterte because her husband's actions supposedly involved matters of national security, says her lawyer, Martin Loon

MANILA, Philippines – The camp of Patricia Bautista claimed it has other documents against Commission on Elections (Comelec) chief Andres Bautista which will be revealed “at the proper time” and forum.

Patricia’s lawyer, Martin Loon, told this to reporters shortly before the poll chief filed cybercrime charges against his wife and her lawyers for supposedly accessing his emails.

Patricia’s affidavit contains an incomplete list of what she found in their home last year, said Loon. The rest will be revealed in the “proper forum,” he said. (List: Bank accounts, properties the Comelec chief must explain)

Marami pa pong ibang revelation si (There are more to be revealed by) Mrs Bautista and everything will come at the proper time and at the proper forum. We decided to just release everything that she discovered at the proper investigation and at the proper forum,” Loon said on Friday, August 11. 

Hindi lamang po pera. Marami pa pong iba (It’s not just about money. There’s more),” Loon said without elaborating. 

Asked if the other documents have something to do with his position as Comelec chief, Loon replied, “Napakaraming nahanap ng kanyang misis at ito ay isisiwalat sa tamang panahon (She found a lot of things which will be revealed at the proper time).”

He said it could be in a congressional hearing or in any appropriate government forum. 

2016 elections?

Loon told Rappler in a separate interview that Patricia sought an audience with President Rodrigo Duterte because the issues are “deeper” and they are matters of “national security.”

He refused to elaborate. 

The wife’s affidavit only listed bank accounts and properties supposedly under the name of the poll chief that she said are not declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) – an annual filing required of government officials.

Among political circles, there has been interest about Patricia’s claim that her ex-husband allegedly received commissions from Divina Law, the legal counsel of Venezuelan company Smartmatic that provided poll machines for the 2016 elections. 

The Comelec chief said the referral fees from Divina Law had nothing to do with his functions as government official

The law firm also threatened to file libel charges against Patricia for weaving false stories against the firm.

Speculations have been rife as the controversy comes amid the bid of defeated vice president candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr to unseat Vice President Leni Robredo. (READ: Marcos denies hand in Comelec chair, wife’s tiff)

Loon was a youth volunteer for the Nacionalista Party – the political party of Marcos – but he belied allegations that the exposé is meant to aid the former senator’s poll protest. 

Patricia’s affidavit lays the groundwork for a possible impeachment complaint against her husband. Inaccuracies in the Comelec chief’s SALN is reminiscent of the track taken by the prosecutors of the late Supreme Court chief justice Renato Corona to unseat him in 2012.

But Loon said the poll chief, including family members who co-own suspicious bank accounts, may also be liable for plunder. 

– Rappler.com

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