Santiago slams ‘mental health attacks’ as ‘orchestrated smear campaign’

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago cried foul on Tuesday over the alleged attempt by her enemies to use her mental health condition to force her out of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“The attempt to resurrect the age-old issue of mental health is a dead give-away that the personal attacks are part of an orchestrated smear campaign,” Santiago said in an e-mail to media.

“As the last ploy of the desperate, it was used against me during the 1992 presidential campaign. It always resurfaces when, in my crusade against corruption, I make enemies who are so filthy rich that they can hire an expensive PR firm specializing in dirty tricks,” she said.

In her letter, Santiago informed the media that she would no longer answer any question from the median to respond to personal attacks.

The senator gave two reasons: First, taking the debate outside of the courtroom would distract the public discourse on the issues raised by the impeachment trial and second, it would raise her blood pressure “and I might suffer a stroke.”

She cited for instance her radio interview Sunday where she was made to listen to an “attack by a publicity-seeking senatorial candidate and to malicious questions baiting me” and another columnist, who she said used a fake letter trying to raise an issue about her mental health. She described the columnist as a “regular Malacañang apologist,”

A provision in the Constitution, Santiago said, provides that “any personal attacks against a judge during trial qualifies as the crime of contempt because it tends to degrade the administration of justice.”

The Supreme Court, she said, has ruled that this provision applies even to media.

“In Logic 101, the basic principle is that debaters should stick to the issues, and never descend to the level of personalities, which is a despicable low blow,” Santiago said.

But since the Senate rules prohibit public discussion on the merits of the case, the “corrupt character assassins feed the media with poisonous personal attacks,” she pointed out.

“My enemies could deliberately provoke me with a personal attack that could lead me to further hypertension and a possible stroke, thus effectively removing me from the impeachment court,” Santiago said.

Unlike her enemies, however, Santiago boasted her achievements being a TOYM awardee and the TOWNS Award and the she received from the Philippine Lions for excellence as a judge.

“By contrast, what is the record of actual courtroom experience of my enemies?” she said, “If lawyers, most can only claim law experience, but not trial experience.”

“Not every dimwit can claim trial practice, which calls for the special rules on trial technique and procedure. And what is the basis for all the pious nonsense about judicial behavior, from people who have never seen a courtroom, or read jurisprudence?”

“I am aghast and postal that a party in litigation and the sub-mental cretins who are my enemies have the gall to demand the power to control the personality of the judge. To educate the non-educable, it is the judge who controls the proceedings,” she added.

And to block her enemies’ bid to remove her from the impeachment court, Santiago said she would convince the International Criminal Court (ICC) to call her only after the impeachment decision has been promulgated.

Santiago, who was elected as one of six judges in the ICC, is scheduled to taker oath this March. After taking their oaths, the judges will go back to their respective countries, resume their careers and wait for the ICC to call them to report for work.

“This could take from six months to two years,” she said.

But it is black propaganda, she said, to imply that her strong efforts to prevent trial delays would not amount to anything as she would no longer be in the country when the impeachment trial would be submitted for decision.

“Even only one vote could be crucial to decide the impeachment case. Hence, I shall take steps to persuade the ICC to call me, only until after the impeachment decision has been promulgated,” Santiago added.