Amid health issues, Santiago says she is ready for presidential bid

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Despite concerns over her health condition, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Thursday said she is ready for her third presidential bid in 2016.

READ: Santiago stands up to critics of her health: ‘Why are you so nasty?’

“Yes, I’ve been through this several times,” Santiago said as a response to the question whether she was ready for a “rigorous physical campaign.”

The senator said she has beaten stage four cancer due to “very advanced cancer medication.”

“Well, I am in the stage that is a result of very advanced cancer medication. People are not aware of it and I am glad that I am given the opportunity to make people know that the situation has changed completely. In effect nobody dies from cancer anymore,” she said.

Although she admitted that cancer medication was expensive, Santiago said that she would be able to survive with the help of her contributors.

“As long as my contributors will be able to help me survive, I will be able to finish the campaign and even win it,” she said.

Questions have been raised against the senator’s state of health after she claimed that she has conquered stage four lung cancer.

READ: Santiago refuses doc’s request to release her medical records

The senator has been challenged to release her medical records but she rejected the request to release her medical records to prove that she was fit for the presidency.

“I think the better way of testing the capability of presidential candidates is not the strength of their machinery or their organization but the strength of their brains,” she said.

In 1992, Santiago ran against former President Fidel Ramos but lost. During the 1998 elections, she ran again for president but lost to former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada. RAM