Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Senator Miriam-Santiago said she is planning to file a petition with the Supreme Court questioning the authority of heads of office to use savings “at their absolute discretion.”
But Santiago, who has been questioning the alleged unfair disbursement of savings in the Senate, said she has yet to wait for the reply of the Commission on Appointment (COA) on the letter she sent last January 10 before bringing the issue to the high court.
“I am required by law to observe the principle of exhaustion of administrative remedies. This means that first I have to go to the COA, and request for a study and report on the issue of constitutionality,” Santiago said in a statement on Wednesday.
“If the COA opinion differs from mine, only then will I be allowed to file a court case. If not, the court will dismiss my petition,” she said.
In her letter to COA chairperson Ma. Gracia Pulito-Tan, Santiago requested the Commission to look into the alleged widespread abuse of government’s savings.
Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile admitted giving each senator P2.2 million additional maintenance and other operating expenses last year, except for Santiago and three others – Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Senators Pia Cayetano and Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV, who allegedly got only P600,000 last November.
But in an interview on television last week, Pulido-Tan recognized Enrile’s authority to use the savings of the Senate.
And Santiago said she felt “very disappointed and frustrated” by the COA head’s take on the issue.
“If she said that, then she may have overlooked the constitutional provisions on due process and equal protection,” Santiago said.
“I hope she did not mean that COA rules vest unlimited discretion on every head of office. Every discretionary use of budget funds is always limited by constitutional provisions,” she said.
Santiago said she could not understand why the COA saw nothing wrong with Enrile “giving away taxpayers’ money of as gifts to senators.”
“Supposed next year, the Christmas gift for a senator is raised to P3 million, and the year later, to P4 million. Does COA mean that the amount is unlimited? We are talking of taxpayers’ money here,” she pointed out.
She insisted that the so-called “additional MOOE” being given senators at yearend was “phony because in effect, the office closes at the end of the year and therefore there is no more need for additional office expenses.”
“Starting January, every senator will receive his monthly allocation of P2.2 million, half of which will go to personal services and half to office expenses. So I ask: Why give so-called additional MOOE at yearend, when the Senate has effectively closed for the year, and new MOOE will be given in January?” she asked.
Santiago also reiterated that while she accepted Senate savings in the past, it was because “they were in modest amounts and distributed during the course of the year.”
“But recently, Enrile authorized a Christmas gift of nearly P2 million to every senator, and at the end of the year,” she pointed out.