Claudine Bautista at Jose French Lim
NAGPALIWANAG na si Congresswoman Claudine “Dendee” Bautista sa publiko matapos makatanggap ng kaliwa’t kanang batikos dahil sa engrande nilang kasal ni Jose French “Tracker” Lim.
Ilang araw ding nanahimik ang kongresista at party-list representative ng Drivers United for Mass Progress and Equal Rights o DUMPER sa gitna ng pangnenega sa kanya ng mga netizens kabilang na ang ilang celebrities.
Hindi na raw dapat ipinangalandakan ng kongresista ang bonggang wedding nila na ginanap sa sosyaling Balesin Island Resort sa Polilio, Quezon, lalo pa’t nasa gitna pa rin ng pandemya ang bansa.
Binatikos din si Bautista dahil habang ginaganap daw ang napakamahal niyang kasal ay patuloy namang naghihirap at nagugutom ang mga PUV drivers sa bansa na siyang nire-represent ng kanilang party-list.
Kabilang sa mga bumanat sa magarbong kasalan sina Agot Isidro, Pokwang at Enchong Dee. Ito’y matapos nga nilang makita ang ipinost na mga wedding photos ng international fashion designer na si Michael Cinco.
Ngayong araw, nagbigay na ng official statement si Bautista hinggil sa kinasasangkutang kontrobersiya.
“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.
“My husband is a kind and loving person and all he wanted was to give me the wedding of my dreams.
“We both found many of the comments heartbreaking. This celebration of love was a product of my husband’s hard work,” paliwanag ng kongresista.
Patuloy pa niya, “I hear you, and I have internalized all of the grievances that were brought up in light of what was supposed to be a private and personal milestone.
“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,” sabi pa ni Bautista na anak ni Davao Occidental Gov. Claude Bautista.
Diin pa niya, “We had no intention of making our wedding a public affair, so we kept it as intimate as possible. However, access was unintentionally given through the post of my wedding gown designer, Michael Cinco and he mistakenly posted about the private event.
“He has since, also apologized for bringing unwanted attention to an event that was supposed to be separate from my life as a public servant.
“Working for a public office, I have always valued the integrity of my work,” aniya pa kasunod ng pagbanggit sa mga nagawa ng kanilang grupo ngayong pandemya.
“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,” pahayag niya.
“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.
“Kaysa magsiraan tayo, ilaan natin ang enerhiyang meron tayo bilang isang komunidad sa pag-ahon mula sa pandemyang ito,” dagdag pa niyang pahayag.