MANILA, Philippines—Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago informed the Senate on Thursday that while 90 percent of her cancer cells have already regressed, she was not yet “physically fit” to attend plenary sessions.
“Six weeks after my diagnoses and after taking modern medication, the scans and other laboratory tests showed that some 70 percent of the cancer cells had regressed; now over three months after diagnosis, the same scans and tests showed that some 90 percent of the cancer cells have regressed,” Santiago said in her letter to Senate President Franklin Drilon.
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER.net photo
Despite this, she said, “I am not yet physically fit to attend plenary sessions because of the characteristic debilitating fatigue that marks cancer.”
Santiago though pointed out that she has managed to discharge her duties as chair of certain committees.
“In addition, I continue to file bills and resolutions, on weekly basis. I have managed to discharge some speaking obligations , on condition that the event will not last more than two hours, which is my physical limit at this time,” she said.
The senator was the guest speaker in an event at the Philippine Christian University in Manila Wednesday.
She said she furnished the Senate secretariat a copy of the letter with the request that her committee and other activities should be credited as official discharge of her duties.
“I further request that this letter should be made part of my personnel files to prevent malicious comments about my Senate attendance,” Santiago added.
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