We are poor because everybody wants gov’t money in his own pocket—Santiago

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines—Corruption is the reason why the Philippines is a poor country, presidential aspirant Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said on Sunday.

“Why are we so poor? Everybody wants to have the money of the government in his own pocket,” she said in her opening statement at the first presidential debate by the Commission on Elections for the 2016 polls held in Capitol University here on Sunday.

In her campaign launch early this month, Santiago vowed to put the corrupt officials in jail.

“We are rich in natural resources, we are rich in people resources. And yet we hear from analysts and economists we are the poorest in Asia,” she said.

“What our country needs is a sense of shared destiny,” she said in conclusion of her one-minute opening statement.

Aside from Santiago, the rest of the presidential candidates—Vice President Jejomar Binay, administration-backed Mar Roxas, Senator Grace Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte—also participated in the said event. RAM

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