In boxing or sexy legs bout, Santiago ready to face foes

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago challenged her foes on Friday to a debate, boxing and even to a contest of who has the most beautiful legs.

“Yung mga kalaban kong yan, punong-puno na ako sa kanila,” Santiago said in her speech before a full-packed crowd of students at the Centro Escolar University in Manila.

“Hamon ko sa kanila, magdebate kami dito sa CEU. O gusto nila mag-boxing na lang kami,” Santiago said, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

“…Let’s compare…who has the most beautiful legs. Mag shorts sya, mag shorts din ako,” she said.

Santiago did not name names but before she gave her speech on Charter Change, she lengthily talked about the controversial P1.6 million fund that Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile each gave to 18 senators, except to Santiago, herself, and three other senators.

But in one of her “words of advice” to CEU students, Santiago used an “old” man as her example.

“Yung kalaban kong matanda dahil mahilig manligaw yan e, hanggang ngayon,–minsan nanligaw sinabihan nya yung babae, nasa dugo talaga namin ang pagiging gwapo. Sabi naman ng babae, ‘bakit sa dugo lang bakit hindi napunta sa mukha mo?”

Santiago also cautioned students from copying in schools so they would not end like a senator who is now copying in the Senate.

One of the senators publicly accused of plagiarism was Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, a known ally of Enrile.