 |
| The Andres Bautistas and Andy Bau's mom-in-law, the beautous Baby Cruz Vasquez in happier times |
Indeed, nothing like a public
tussle between husband and wife to rock the media--- especially if the former
is a prominent official and the wife is the aggressive and assertive kind who
wants half of the wealth. Last Monday, the Inquirer broke out the story of the on-going
dispute between Comelec Chair Andres Bautista and his estranged wife, Patricia
Cruz-Bautista, and it has been pecking plate for tri-media---with the audience
or the readers following every twist and turn of this melodrama being played
out especially on the TV networks.
I feel sad and truly sorry
for any marriage break-up, as I subscribe to the belief that a marriage under God is indissoluble except by death. This time I feel sorrier because I know Andy
Bautista and his mother-in-law, the ever-glamorous Baby Cruz-Vasquez. I felt very sad to hear from Andy over TV
recently how his sons have stopped going to school because of the shame that front pages of newspapers and prime-time TV of their parents’ very public quarrel have brought them. In any marriage break-up especially of the frightfully
acrimonious kind (from Trisha Bautista’s end) the real victims of the word war are
the children---more so in this case, as it is so high-profile. Truly tragic
XXX
There are interesting facets
to the controversy, such as the query on everyone’s mind after Andy Bautista called
for his first press conference to answer
his wife’s allegations about ill-gotten wealth in---of all places---the condo
unit of his mother-in-law, Baby Vasquez, and her husband Danny Vasquez. Both Vasquezes were very visible by his side. The query: bakit kakampi ni Andy Bau (as
his friends call him) ang mother-in-law niya, when by tradition and old wives’ tales, mother-in-law and son or daughter-in-law have little love lost for each
other. Here Andy Bau has the full support of his mom-in-law, which doesn’t seem
to go by the traditional Pinoy drama script.
In fact, Baby Cruz Vasquez
released a statement just now that reads:
“I am greatly saddened by
recent events involving my daughter Trisha and her husband Andy. AS a mother,
you always wish happiness for your daughter and her family. Sadly, fairy tales sometimes
do not always come true.
“It also pains me to see my
grandchildren go through this trial that was not of their doing nor their
fault.
“I have known Andy for years
and I know him to be an honest, upright, God-fearing husband and father. He is
a man of unquestioned integrity, the kind of man any mother would entrust her
daughter to. THIS IS WHY I CANNOT BELIEVE THE ACCUSATION AGAINST HIM, EVEN IF
THEY ARE FROM MY OWN DAUGHTER (emphasis BOC’s).
“I continue to pray for Andy
and his family, that they stand fast and find the strength to face this storm.
I also pray for my daughter, that she realizes what are truly important in
life.”
In turn, Baby, we your friends
are praying for strength for you and your family amid this cross that you are
carrying.
XXX
Judging from public reaction
of friends and people I know, the sympathy seems to be tilting toward Andy Bau
especially after he appeared on TV a second time with his eyes swollen and he spoke about his sons. The good feeling toward him comes from the
fellow’s easy friendly manners even with media, but I also gather the same sentiment
from people who know him well.
For instance, Dr. Jason Roland Valdez, son of
SSS Chair Amado Valdez, narrates that when his grandmother died, Andy Bau was
the first one to arrive at the funeral parlor---ahead of the Valdezes and even
of the corpse in the viewing room---to condole with the bereaved family. J.R.
Valdez asserts that he would never forget this episode about their family
friend.
XXX
Actually the friendship
among three former deans of law schools is indicative of Andy Bau’s easy
manners and nice-guy image. Andy was dean of the FEU College of Law, while
Amado Valdez was dean of the UE College of Law, and Nilo Divina the current dean of the UST College of Law.
The three men were once very active in the Philippine Association of Law
Schools (PALS).
This friendship between
Bautista and Nilo Divina has come into play in the current controversy, as Trisha Bautista's allegation is that Andy Bau was receiving what amounts to “lagay” for referring
PCGG cases to Nilo’s office, and the sums are alleged by Trisha as part
of monies stacked up in Bautista’s numerous bank accounts here and abroad---which
wealth, as the stories go, she wants to be divided evenly between them.
XXX
With the allegations against
Andy Bau hurled by Trisha before President Duterte in Malacanang earlier, and
later in a press conference that she held, talk of impeachment---the only
manner in the Constitution whereby the chair of a constitutional commission
such as the Comelec could be removed for cause---has surfaced. As per the Constitution, the resolution to
impeach a public servant comes from the House of Representatives and if the
sufficient votes are secured, the case goes to the Senate for open and
frequently bloody trial, as in the case of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Because Bautista was an
appointee of ex-President Aquino, President
Duterte’s men in both chambers of
Congress may be expected to get into full throttle on the trial. Moreover, as
Comelec chair, Bautista doubtless has left one political party or the other
aggrieved in the elections. An
impeachment trial is also a way of
diverting attention from the problems bedeviling the administration
such as the increasingly sluggish economy, the insurgency war and the bog-down
of the peace talks with the Left, the still unresolved trouble in Marawi and
environs, and the insufficient budget needs for big-ticket items such as implementing free tuition in State Universities & Colleges, that has recently been
passed into law.
Aside from the trials and
tribulations of a contemporary marriage in the elite class, what’s happening to
Comelec Chair Bautista is enough to frighten any thinking citizen about
entering public service. I join his mom-in-law, Baby Cruz Vasquez, in praying for enlightenment for the estranged couple.
all men are born good. a hated government does not endure long!!!
ReplyDelete