It might look like a simple case of he said-she said, but Patricia Bautista’s shocking allegations of massive corruption against her estranged husband, Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista, have important implications on the legitimacy of our present leadership.
Both sides have lobbed shots at each other. Mrs. Bautista fired first, claiming her husband has amassed nearly P1 billion in unexplained wealth, showing dozens of bank passbooks and other documents as proof.
She reported the matter to President Duterte at the Palace, but the latter seems to be distancing himself by labeling the issue as something that the couple have to work out between themselves.
Mr. Bautista retaliated by denying the accusations and attacking the character of his wife. Speaking from his in-laws’ home, he said she was unfaithful and greedy.
Journalists and bloggers began their own investigations. Manila Standard’s own Jojo Robles noted Mr. Bautista’s ties to a former classmate who happens to belong to the family who owns the bank where much of the disputed money is deposited. This fellow was an appointee of the previous administration, Robles revealed, and in fact has been charged with graft for anomalous transactions in the agency he served. The money, he speculates, might be “someone else’s.”
Others have supported Mrs. Bautista, pointing to her cosmetology vocational school and other similar efforts as proof of her charitable nature. A New Age type who is into reading auras and energy healing, she shrugs off claims of “craziness” as well her alleged infidelity.
Everyone has an opinion, and many weighed in on social media. What caught my attention were these oft-repeated statements: that Mrs. Bautista is airing dirty linen in public and destroying her family, that she is immoral, and therefore less credible than her husband.
This is always the case when a woman levels accusations of wrongdoing against her husband—the burden of proof is heavier on her than on a man. In many cases of domestic abuse, for instance, the woman is expected to keep mum because “it will destroy the family.”
It is reasonable to assume that Mrs. Bautista thought long and hard before going public with this matter. She knew her relationship with another man would be brought up. She knew she would be making dangerous enemies and be putting herself in harm’s way. But she believes that it is important for her truth to be told.
Whether it is the truth is another matter. But what makes her story believable is the money.
The passbooks are in Mr. Bautista’s name, and these amounts are not declared in his statement of assets and liabilities. All government officials and employees are required to give an honest report of their finances in their SALNs, and failure to to do carries many severe penalties.
The point here is, where did Mr. Bautista get nearly a billion pesos? Where did all that money come from? Are they bribes? Did he sell out the 2016 elections? If so, who of the politicians running amuck in local bailiwicks or Congress shouldn’t be there at all?
Or is he holding the moneybag for someone else?
The money is all anyone needs to look at. Mrs. Bautista has accused the Comelec chairman of corruption, she has provided documents to bolster her statements, so now it is for legal eagles, accountants, and investigators to follow the money.
Slut-shaming Mrs. Bautista is the natural reaction of a society with a mindset stuck in the Middle Ages, a society that is the last remaining holdout against a divorce bill, a society that is patriarchal and seeks to control women and curb their power through norms and customs.
Trying to embarrass her for her unorthodox spiritual practices is also the backward reaction of a society that cannot separate church from state nor accept any other belief systems other than those that are traditional and ‘properly accredited,’ inevitably those run largely on patriarchal lines.
Even if she does have a relationship with another man, even if she does believe her dead father speaks to her, all that money is still there on the table and that’s where the focus should be.
In other words—ad hominem attacks on Mrs. Bautista waste energy and effort. Follow the money trail. Investigate the allegations of graft and corruption. And find out if we, the Filipino people, have once again been betrayed by those sworn to uphold the interests of the public.
Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. FB: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, IG: @jensdecember, @artuoste