Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Senator Miriam Defensor–Santiago said she has lost her respect for Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile that she could no longer call him “Senate President.”
In an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990AM on Wednesday, Santiago repeatedly addressed the Senate leader as either Juan Ponce-Enrile or Enrile only.
“Wala na akong respeto sa kanya bilang Senate President (I have lost my respect for him as Senate President),” she said. “Dahil iyong ginawa niya, kinuha niya ang pera ng bayan at ipinamudmod sa mga senador sa halagang P2 million bawat senador nitong Pasko. Makatarungan ba iyan? (Because what he did, he took the people’s money and distributed to senators, each getting P2 million last Christmas. Do you think that’s fair?) ”
“At galit siya sa akin dahil binunyag ko iyan sa publiko. Gusto niyang ilihim lang yan. Ako ngayon ang pinag-ukulan niya ng pansin dahil ako ang pinakamaingay doon (And he’s angry at me because I divulged it to the public. He wanted to keep it secret. So now he’s venting his ire on me because I’m the most vocal about the issue),” Santiago said.
She was referring to the P2.2 million that Enrile gave each senator late last year, except for four Senate members, including Santiago.
“At wala ni isang nagbalik ng pera nila. Ako binalik ko pera (And nobody returned the money. I returned mine),” she said, referring to the P250,000 that she received from Enrile’s office last December.
That was why Santiago said she was no longer surprised when Enrile’s approval rating, based on the latest survey of Pulse Asia, suddenly dropped from 67 percent last November to 46 percent in January, 2013.
“Dapat lang. Dapat mababa pa nga. Baka nagkamali lang ang Pulse Asia (That’s should be the case. It should even be lower. Maybe there was an error in the Pulse Asia result),” she said, followed by a hearty laugh.
Unfortunately, Santiago said, the controversy hounding the Senate leader might impact on his son, Cagayan Representative Juan “Jack” Ponce-Enrile, who is running for the Senate under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).
“Magiging apekatado iyong anak niya… Dahil pareho ang pangalan nila, siguradong apektado ang anak niya. Kaya dapat yung anak, pagalitan nya iyong tatay niya (The issue could affect his son’s candidacy. Because they have the same name, it will surely affect the son’s electoral bid. So the son should reprimand his dad) ,” Santiago said.