Lacson on Santiago’s gay list

By: Maila Ager - 11 years ago

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago came up with her own list on Tuesday titled “closeted gays or bisexuals in public service,” which she said included a certain “Pinky Lacson.”

Santiago, in a statement, was apparently alluding to former senator and now rehabilitation czar Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who identified her as one of those senators allegedly included in the “pork” lists. Santiago has repeatedly called Lacson “Pinky” in the past.

“Anyone can make lists. I was told that there is a list [titled] “Closeted gays or bisexuals in public service.” I was given names, and I was requested to say “Yes” or “No” on whether the person was truly in the list. When the name Pinky Lacson was called, I said ‘yes,'” Santiago said.

“Anyway, there is an affidavit, although unsigned, circulating in Metro Manila that Pinky Lacson has asked for leave of absence from Malacañang. The highly confidential reason is that he is scheduled for a gender change operation in a remote clinic in the United States,” she added.

Turning serious, Santiago strongly denied any denied any dealings with alleged “pork barrel” scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

“For the record, I never had dealings with Napoles. The Napoles list, if unsigned, has no evidentiary value at all,” she said.

“I repeat, Lacson is an attack dog of (Senator Juan Ponce) Enrile. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that to allege is not proof. Where is the evidence, as defined in the Rules of Court?”

“I am pushing to get the list of Benhur Luy. I understand that the Luy list is substantiated by documents and details,” Santiago added.

Luy was Napoles’ employee who became the principal whistle-blower in the “pork” scam.