THE Justice Department has extended protection to Patricia Bautista, the estranged wife of Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista who has accused him of amassing P1 billion in ill-gotten wealth, an official said Friday.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II made the disclosure after meeting with Ms. Bautista, who had asked to be admitted to the government’s Witness Protection Program.
“The provisional admission of Ms. Bautista into the WPP was made in consideration of her safety and security as a potential witness,” Aguirre told reporters.
He said the protection given to Ms. Bautista was aside from the security being provided to her by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police.
He said Ms. Bautista sought protection due to the threats to her life.
“Her safety and security is her utmost concern, Aguirre said. But he said he had no details yet on the kind of threats Ms. Bautista had been receiving.
Ms. Bautista declined to make a statement after meeting with Aguirre.
She also went to the NBI to meet with the team tasked by Aguirre to investigate Andres Bautista’s alleged hidden wealth.
Aguirre said Ms. Bautista would be required to execute an affidavit to determine if she was qualified to be fully accepted to the government—Witness Protection Program.