MANILA, Philippines - After postponing his wedding for three years, ZTE whistleblower Jose “Joey” de Venecia III is tying the knot with Karen Batumbacal in a civil wedding to be officiated by vice president-elect Jejomar Binay afternoon of June 29 at the Makati City Hall.
Batumbacal, 46, the same age as De Venecia, is the daughter of renowned ophthalmologist Dr. Ramon Batumbacal and the late Cecilia Viaplana. She obtained a degree in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and was an executive of a major contact center since 2000.
The couple originally planned to marry in 2007, at the height of De Venecia’s expose on the anomalous national broadband deal between the Philippine government and China’s ZTE Corp.
“There were a lot of death threats at that time. I felt that it was very unfair to her and her family to be in that kind of situation so we decided at the last minute, after all the invitations were sent out, that we would defer the wedding and we would try again in 2008,” De Venecia said during his visit to The STAR office yesterday.
But in 2008, the death threats continued, and in 2009, De Vencia decided to run for senator but lost in the May 10 elections.
“We are looking forward to being married finally. We’ve been seeing each other for five years. She’s seen me from being a controversial figure in the ZTE (controversy) and as a senatorial candidate,” De Venecia said. “She never liked politics, but in the end she really got involved in the campaign. She was very helpful with me until the end of the campaign.”
The couple will have a Church wedding in December, but no plans for it were made yet. They have, in fact, not even thought of what to wear to the civil ceremony yet.
“We’ll just dress formally,” he said.
The wedding will be witnessed by the groom’s father, former House speaker Jose de Venecia II, former President Joseph Estrada and two relatives from the bride’s side.
Afterwards, they will host a simple dinner for 20 to 25 people.
De Venecia and Batumbacal were introduced in 2005 by businessmen Ramon Arnaiz and Ben Tesoro. Before that, De Venecia had seen her in information and communication technologies conferences.
As a professional, he describes his fiancé as “very good with operations” and as someone who has “made a name for herself” in the business process outsourcing industry.
Both have been single for nearly 15 years, having failed in their previous marriages. De Venecia has a son with his former wife Victoria Perez, daughter of former House speaker Eugenio Perez.
Batumbacal, on the other hand, has two children with her first husband.
De Venecia said they have both grown fond of each others’ children.
He said his fiancé, whom he described as “very caring and supportive” gave him strength when he was testifying in the Senate, and at the time when there was “friction” between him and his father, then a staunch ally of President Arroyo.
“At that time, I was not able to see her because I was at the Senate from 10 in the morning to 10 at night. But she gave me affirmation that I was doing the right thing... She gives me stability in life,” he said.
De Venecia is once again testifying in the Sandiganbyan hearings on the case, an ordeal that they will now have to face as a married couple.
“But whatever happens now, we’ll just have to accept our situation, that it’s part of our life,” he said.