Senator Miriam Defensor- Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines— Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said Monday that it is difficult to find the Aquino administration’s “daang matuwid” and hinted that even a “Global Positioning Service (GPS)” cannot locate it.
“I was full of hope that at least he (Aquino) will lead us to the daang matuwid but where we are now, we are far from that. How can you GPS daang matuwid from here?” Santiago said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM when asked about the pork barrel scam controversy rocking the government.
Santiago expressed her disappointment with Aquino and challenged the President to clear his name and resolve the pork controversy that has also linked the office of his Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad.
“Before, he (Aquino) was a Teflon president. All the mud stuck to everybody else except him. Now, can the President of the Philippines tell the public that my Budget secretary does things behind my back?” Santiago said.
Santiago said she is hoping that Aquino has no participation in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam and the P1.107 billion Disbursement Allocation Program given to legislators who voted to convict Chief Justice Renato Corona last year.
On Sunday, Abad released a list of lawmakers who were given P50 million each as DAP. The Budget chief was prompted to release the list after Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada disclosed in his privilege speech the financial “incentive” given to his fellow senators who convicted Corona.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), headed by Abad, is the agency responsible for distributing and approving the budget allocated to the PDAF of senators and congressmen.
In the interview, Santiago reiterated that Cabinet members are “mere alter egos of the President” and they only serve as the extension of the physical body of the President “who can’t be everywhere at the same time.”
“They cannot just act without the President’s order,” she said.
Related stories:
Post-impeachment pork: Drilon, Enrile top list
Joker Arroyo lays bribery at Palace doorstep
Santiago: ‘Bribery scam’ just a coverup by senators linked to pork barrel scam