Bautista’s estranged wife: Fight not yet over

MANILA, Philippines — For Patricia Bautista, the dismissal of the impeachment complaint against her estranged husband is just a temporary setback.

“I would just like to say that we remain undeterred. This is just the start, we believe in the system and in the goodness of the people and in their good sense. So at the end of the day, we trust in what will be and this is a bump and go,” she told reporters.

She and her husband, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista, are embroiled in a bitter marital dispute. They have filed charges against each other.

Patricia indicated that she accepted the decision of the House committee on justice to dismiss the impeachment complaint against her husband.

“It is what it is. I would like to think that the Filipino people are smarter than what they would like us to think,” she said.

She said she would explore other options to pursue her allegations against her husband, who she claims has amassed more than P1 billion in ill-gotten wealth.

The Comelec chief has denied her accusations. He said his wealth all came from legal sources. He is now insulated for one year from any impeachment process.

Patricia said she would not wait for the one-year period to expire to find out the truth about her husband’s alleged ill-gotten wealth.

“One year is a very long time. I think that light can come in many different forms and there are many different venues for light to be shed on this matter. So we will look for those venues as well,” she said.

Her lawyer Lorna Kapunan echoed her client’s statement that the impeachment complaint’s dismissal is a temporary setback for them.

“This is temporary, we live to fight another day,” she said.

Kapunan said they hoped that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which is looking into Bautista’s alleged illegal assets, would recommend plunder charges against the Comelec chief.