Santiago: I’ve lost respect for Enrile

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Miriam  Defensor–Santiago said she has lost her respect for  Senate  President  Juan Ponce-Enrile  that  she could no longer call him  “Senate  President.”

In  an  interview  over Radyo Inquirer 990AM on Wednesday,  Santiago  repeatedly  addressed  the Senate leader  as either  Juan  Ponce-Enrile   or Enrile  only.

“Wala na akong respeto sa kanya bilang Senate President (I have lost my respect for him as Senate President),” she  said. “Dahil iyong ginawa niya,  kinuha niya ang pera ng bayan at ipinamudmod sa mga senador sa halagang P2 million bawat senador nitong Pasko. Makatarungan ba iyan? (Because what he did, he took the people’s money and distributed to senators, each getting P2 million last Christmas. Do you think that’s fair?) ”

“At galit siya sa akin dahil binunyag ko iyan sa  publiko. Gusto niyang ilihim lang yan. Ako ngayon ang pinag-ukulan niya ng pansin dahil ako ang pinakamaingay doon (And he’s angry at me because I divulged it to the public. He wanted to keep it secret. So now he’s venting his ire on me because I’m the most vocal about the issue),” Santiago said.

She was referring to the  P2.2 million  that  Enrile gave each senator late last year, except for  four Senate members, including Santiago.

“At wala ni isang nagbalik ng pera nila. Ako binalik ko pera (And nobody returned the money. I returned mine),” she said,  referring to the P250,000 that  she received from Enrile’s office last December.

That was why Santiago said she was no longer surprised when Enrile’s approval rating, based on the latest survey of Pulse Asia, suddenly dropped  from  67 percent last November to 46 percent in January, 2013.

“Dapat lang. Dapat mababa pa nga. Baka nagkamali lang ang Pulse Asia (That’s should be the case. It should even be lower. Maybe there was an error in the Pulse Asia result),”  she said, followed by a hearty laugh.

Unfortunately, Santiago said,  the controversy  hounding  the Senate leader  might impact  on  his son, Cagayan Representative  Juan “Jack” Ponce-Enrile, who is running for the Senate under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

“Magiging apekatado iyong anak niya… Dahil pareho ang pangalan nila, siguradong apektado ang anak niya. Kaya dapat yung anak, pagalitan nya iyong tatay niya (The issue could affect his son’s candidacy. Because they have the same name, it will surely affect the son’s electoral bid. So the son should reprimand his dad) ,”  Santiago said.