Marcos: Santiago to return to campaign trail soon

Presidential candidate Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and vice presidential bet Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said his running mate Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago might return to the campaign trail soon and a sortie of their tandem “sometime next week” is being planned out.

“Meron kaming pinaplano (We are in the planning stage).  I think we will have a joint appearance. Wala pang mga (There are no) details so far but we will announce it as soon we have it,” Marcos said on the sidelines of his Las Pinas sortie on Wednesday, adding that their campaign is scheduled sometime next week.

Last month, Santiago announced that she will take a break from the campaign to try a clinical trial for a new anticancer treatment that would have otherwise cost her half a million pesos every three weeks.

The trial will require Santiago, who was diagnosed with a stage 4 (advanced) lung cancer in 2014, to undergo outpatient radiation treatment daily at a hospital for a short period.

Since the campaign launch last Feb. 9, she only appeared publicly six times, mostly at universities. A few days before she announced her treatment, three of her scheduled appearances, including a sortie in her hometown in Iloilo, were cancelled. She also skipped the debate hosted by the Commission on Elections last month.

READ: Santiago to skip Comelec debate to try new anticancer pill

Santiago and Marcos last appeared together on Feb. 14 at the Ynares Sports Center for the Youth For Miriam event.

Marcos admitted that given the health condition of Santiago, they really did not plan to campaign together at all times. He also said it would also be practical for them to campaign separately to cover more areas. RAM

READ: Marcos says Santiago’s health should come first amid rigorous campaign