Published by Sunday Post
The reclusive mayor of Cortes town, Bohol broke her silence as a battered wife in a true-to-life story involving domestic violence, verbal abuse and kidnapping.
The object of Cortes Mayor Apolinaria “Jasmin†Balistoy’s complaint was her husband of 15 years. The marriage was blessed with four children.
Only last week, she was heard in radio news that her driver, driving an ambulance, plowed into a corn field in barangay San Isidro, this city. Radio reports said the lady mayor directed the ambulance driver to proceed to her temporary residence in Lindaville Subdivision. Until now, it was still unclear what prompted the ambulance driver to proceed to barangay San Isidro. Subsequent investigation showed that the driver was drunk.
LAST RESORT
Citing as her last resort to escape from the violent tantrums of her husband, Mayor Balistoy filed a case for violence against women in accordance with Section 42 of Republic Act No. 4660.
With a given address at Canmanico, Valencia town, the mayor’s husband, Jose Balistoy, was supposed to be served a subpoena regarding the case. The preliminary investigation is set on October 28 or this coming Tuesday.
City Prosecutor Bibiana Baustista is handling the inquest investigation.
3-PAGE AFFIDAVIT In her three-page affidavit, Mayor Balistoy narrated her ordeal in the hands of her husband.
To support her complaint, she filed a petition of a Permanent Protection Order with Temporary Restraining Order against her husband on September 7, 2007.Acting on her complaint for PPO, the Regional Trial Court under Presiding Judge Venancio Amila found reasonable ground to believe the existence of the facts complained of.
One of the provisions of the protection order was for the husband to stop threatening to commit or committing personally or through another any acts mentioned in Sec. 5 of RA 9262.
The order also directed the respondent to leave the conjugal residence at Rizal St. in this city, and if he removes his personal effects therefrom, he shall secure permission from the Court in order to be accompanied by law enforcement agents until he shall have gathered all his things.
HUSBAND’S SIDE In bid to come up with a fair and balanced report, The Post got the side of the husband and sought his reaction given his wife’s complaint.
In a phone interview, the husband admitted that he did hit his wife but this was out of jealousy.
The jealousy angle was triggered by the husband’s suspicion that his wife was seeing another man other than him.
The husband who admitted he is in possession of their youngest son as a result of that school incident told the Post that he has chosen to stay away from his family. He feared that he could not control his temper endangering the life of his wife in the process.
He said he’d prefer to get lost in Bohol rather than endear the suspicion of his wife being romantically linked to another person. He chose to keep his whereabouts under wraps.
PROTECTION ORDER CANCELED However, against the backdrop of preserving the marriage and made it work, Mayor Balistoy, decided to condone her husband’s wrongdoing and asked the Court to cancel the protection order. She filed the motion canceling the order on October 17, 2007.
An incident on September 23, 2008 in their residence along Rizal St. provoked the lady mayor to file the instant case of violence against women.
Describing what happened on this day, Mayor Balistoy said while she was cultivating her plants, out of nowhere her husband hit her, prompting her to run inside their house particularly in their bedroom.
From there, her husband followed, broke the locked door open and again hit her.
In the same affidavit, Mayor Balistoy said the violent attack was witnessed by one of their sons.
When the son confronted the father, the mayor’s husband got angrier. He then took two hammers and attacked his son. The husband also broke the window glass with the use of the hammer and uttered a threatening language demanding for their son to come out from the house.
KIDNAPPING
The following day, the mayor further narrated, her husband went to the Holy Spirit School and took with him their youngest child, then seven years old.
She then immediately went to the school and upon arrival at the gate, she saw her husband’s lawyer, Salva Diputado, on board his car. She reported the incident to the police. It was at this instance that the kidnapping incident took place according to the lady mayor.
She further said in her affidavit that after being abused and battered by her husband for a long number of years, she decided to come to court not only to invoke her rights as a wife, but also to prosecute him for his wrong doings.
As mayor of Cortes, Balistoy said she has to see to it that she not only execute the laws and put order in the place, but first and foremost, would maintain peace and order in her own household.
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