OpinionsEcon 101Spousal/marital privilege?

Spousal/marital privilege?

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Can a wife testify against her husband? Patricia Paz “Tish” Cruz-Bautista just did. She brought corruption allegations against her own husband, Elections Chair Andres Bautista.

It all started on Monday, Aug.7 when Tish claimed that the Comelec Chief has “unexplained wealth” worth P1.2 billion. If proven that Bautista had indeed omitted some items in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), he may face impeachment.

In response, Bautista accused his estranged wife of setting up an “extortion plan” along with her lover.

The wife went to the extent of meeting with President Duterte, allegedly facilitated by the wife of Bongbong Marcos. Being a lawyer, Digong referred the so-called marital spat to the National Bureau of Investigation. As a constitutional body, Comelec officials are impeachable officers.

The matter is now reduced to a he said-she said controversy, as each party went on media blitz, throwing allegations, producing documents, and defending themselves with their respective claims.

Radio commentators and columnists have given their views, but the most important issue remains: whether or not the Comelec chair committed culpable violations of his constitutional duties and responsibilities?

The motive of the wife is held on greater scrutiny because her accusations are tied to her claims of amounting to more or less P620 million, one half of the more or less alleged P1.2 billion ill-gotten wealth/net worth of her husband.

If her motive is purely out of civic duty, why is she then claiming half of the alleged ill-gotten wealth which she demanded to be paid to her, through her lawyers, before she came out in public — after her husband refused to pay up?

Can the Comelec chair invoke spousal/marital privilege?

Spousal privilege (also called marital or husband-wife privilege) is a term used in the law of evidence to describe two separate privileges: the communications privilege and the testimonial privilege, which is applied in civil and criminal cases. Both types of privilege are based on the policy of encouraging spousal harmony, and preventing spouses from having to condemn, or be condemned by their spouses.

The spousal communications privilege or confidences privilege is a form of privileged communication that protects the contents of confidential communications between spouses during their marriage from testimonial disclosure.

Spousal testimonial privilege (also called spousal incompetency and spousal immunity) protects the individual holding the privilege from being called to testify in proceedings relating to his/her spouse, so that either may invoke it to prevent the other from testifying about a confidential communication made during marriage.

The spousal communications privilege may not be invoked if the spouses are suing each other or each other’s estates in a civil case; if one of the spouses has initiated a criminal proceeding against the other; or in a competency proceeding regarding one of the spouses.

In these cases, a court will not allow either spouse to assert the privilege to block the testimony.

So is this all about money? Watch and learn. Spouses, beware!

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Author’s email: [email protected]

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