Santiago says she did not receive any money for her vote favouring SC’s TRO

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said that she has not been offered money in exchange for her vote to abide by the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court (SC).

“I have not been contacted in any manner or offered P100 million, either in cash or in any other amount including any other inducement with respect to my vote on today’s caucus,” Santiago said.

The senate voted 13-10 to abide by the TRO of the SC. Santiago was among those who voted to abide by the TRO.

The defense panel of SC Chief Justice Renato Corona held a press conference Sunday night to disclose an alleged plan by president Aquino, through executive secretary Paquito Ochoa, to pay P100 million to certain senator-judges in exchange for them to vote against the SC’s TRO on Corona’s dollar accounts.

“Why [did they] bring the trial outside of the courtroom? You cannot litigate outside [the court room], you cannot try and shape public opinion. That might be derogatory to the judge or to the court,” Santiago said.

Santiago said that if she was a presiding judge, she “would ask the lawyer to show cause why I should not cite him for contempt” because it was “completely forbidden under the rules of court.”

“You never hold a press conference about a case that is still pending,” Santiago said.

She said that she could not see any urgency in the matter. “They could manifest it in open court if they feel very strongly that they have to reveal it for some reason or other,” Santiago said.

Santiago said it was a problem that two trials are being conducted, one “being conducted inside the court room and [another] one is being conducted on the platform of mass media. We all know that this should not be done,” she said.

She said that the impeachment court cannot issue a gag order on both defense and prosecution panels because it might infringe press freedom.

“We have to trust only the good faith of the media,” she said.