‘My husband planned our wedding for years’: PUV drivers rep defends lavish private island wedding

DUMPER PTDA partylist Rep. Claudine Bautista has broken her silence over her controversial lavish wedding on a private island in the Philippines amid the plight of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers in the country. 

Bautista said that she has never disregarded the concerns of PUV drivers in the country, contrary to the claims of her critics who questioned her lavish wedding despite the struggles of drivers. 

“Although given the situation, I would also like to express my sadness over how my wedding day, something that I have separated from my work as a public official, has been made into a political spectacle,” Bautista said. 

“My husband has been planning this special day with me for years even before the pandemic, and it pains us to see how things after our wedding turned out. This was supposed to be the culminating event of a decades-long love story,” she added. 

Bautista said that her and her husband found many of the comments on social media “heartbreaking.”

“I have dedicated most of my life to public service, but I was hoping to have this experience in private with my husband, the same way that most people who marry the love of their lives do,” Bautista said. 

“We had no intention of making our wedding a public affair, so we kept it as intimate as possible,” she added. 

Further, Batista said she has always preferred to act silently and “let my actions speak for themselves.”

“I know that I have been doing everything in my capacity to get our sector through this pandemic and I understand that there are still some issues and concerns that have yet to be fixed,” Bautista said. 

“I assure everyone that we have never taken our eyes off of these concerns,” she added. 

Bautista listed some of her initiatives to help PUV drivers such as the inoculation of 18,000 drivers and provision of assistance through the help of government agencies. 

“To address the effects of the pandemic, in my personal capacity, I also made sure that more than 1.1 million grocery packs, PPEs, free insurance policies, and relief assistance are distributed to affected PUV drivers and commuters,” Bautista said. 

“From my personal funds, I have donated P3 million to doctors and nurses to ensure that their tireless sacrifice is recognized,” she added. 

In the end, Bautista urged the public to focus on the pandemic. 

“Moving forward, I want to move past this issue and focus on pressing matters – the pandemic and serving better my constituents. I will no longer indulge in the statements by people of influence against me as I will leave it up to my legal team to address this,” Bautista said. 


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