Palace welcomes Santiago’s entry in presidential derby

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday welcomed  Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s entry in the 2016 presidential derby.

Citing Santiago’s track record in government service, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said the feisty senator’s decision to seek the highest post in the land will give the voting public more options on whom to elect as the country’s next top leader.

“Sen. Santiago’s entry in the presidential race provides voters a wider latitude of choice as she has carved a public service record spanning more than two decades in all three branches of government,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a statement.

READ: Miriam Santiago will run for president in 2016 | Miriam Santiago: PH will be much better if I become president

In the judicial branch, Santiago was named presiding judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court by Ferdinand Marcos. She was also appointed by then President Corazon Aquino as commissioner of immigration after martial law, and was promoted to Cabinet level as agrarian reform secretary.

On Tuesday, Santiago, who is now serving her third term as senator, told reporters that she will file her certificate of candidacy for president this week at the Commission on Elections headquarters in Manila.

“If I become president some time in the very near future, this country will be much better than it was before. Today, this country suffers from the malaise of plunder… It’s like cancer,” Santiago said in her speech during the meet-and-greet event for her book “Stupid is Forevermore” in Makati.

She also hinted that her running mate is someone who has already declared candidacy.

Santiago, who gave up her post as judge in the International Criminal Court, is currently on medical leave at the Senate for battling State 4 lung cancer. But the feisty senator said she already overcame the disease.

Santiago first ran for president in 1992, where she lost to former president Fidel V. Ramos in a hotly contested race. She is expected to face off administration bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, Sen. Grace Poe, and Vice President Jejomar Binay in next year’s presidential polls.