‘I tried to save our marriage’—Comelec chief

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista and wife Patricia. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS/Grig C. Montegrande/L. RILLON

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Andres “Andy” Bautista said on Tuesday he tried his best to save his marriage with his estranged wife, Patricia, despite her having an alleged affair.

“I tried my best. I tried to save that marriage. At alam ‘yan po ng aking mga magulang, ng aking pamilya, at pati po ng aking [My parents know, my family knows, even my] mother-in-law at stepfather-in-law,” an emotional Bautista said in an interview with DZIQ Radyo Inquirer 990.

While they became estranged in 2013 because of his wife’s supposed extramarital relationship, Bautista said he still loved her and tried to work out their relationship until Patricia forcibly intruded his home in 2016 and got all his financial documents, including passbooks, money, bank statements, among others.

“Alam niyo, noon pong we are trying to work it out, between 2013…kahit na alam kong meron na pong pagtataksil, mahal ko pa po siya,” the poll chief said.

(You know, we tried to work it out in 2013…even if there was infidelity, I still loved her.)

READ: Comelec Chair Bautista: I am a victim of infidelity

“At sinisikap ko pa pong buuin. Kaya lang ito pong nangyari nun 2016, binaboy kami, iba na pong usapan yan e,” he added.

(And I tried to keep our relationship. But the nastiness she displayed in 2016, that’s another topic.)

Bautista also claimed his wife had also sent armed goons to prevent him from entering his own home.

Patricia accused Bautista of amassing illegal wealth while in public office. In her affidavit submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation on August 1, she said she has discovered several passbooks, bank accounts, and real properties not included in his Statement of Assets Liabilities, and Net Worth, amounting to around P1.2 billion. IDL

READ: Wife says Comelec chief has unexplained wealth