All 12 Senate winners are ‘criminals’ -- Senator Santiago

May 10, 2007
Updated 22:32:26 (Mla time)
Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago is seriously considering quitting the Senate, saying she cannot stomach serving with 12 new senators who literally bought their way into winning a farce of an election that has become “a battle of billionaires.”

“By July 22 when the 14th Congress opens, I will have at least 12 colleagues in the Senate who all have bought their position. I don’t belong in that league, I don’t have enough money,” said Santiago in a phone interview.

Santiago’s rant followed on senatorial candidate Victor Wood’s complaint against the commercialization of the elections that has favored popular and moneyed candidates.

Wood said the only clear winners in this year’s elections were the giant broadcast networks, the GMA Network and ABS CBN Broadcasting, which have been raking it in from candidates’ ad spending.

“The people with the most money will win. That is why I am thinking of resigning and registering a protest against farcical elections like this one we’re having. It has turned into a contest among billionaires. There is no ideology, no theory, no policy. I don’t see any policy discussion taking place, all personality,” Santiago said.

She said the candidates have focused their spending on three areas that would require hundreds of millions of pesos -- political advertisements on television and radio; bribing mayors to include them on the sample ballots; and paying off a supposed syndicate in the Commission on Elections to either protect or pad their votes or reduce a rival’s votes.

“If this is the case, definitely not one among the new candidates by July would have remained within the spending limits imposed by law. He has started his career in the Senate as a criminal by breaking the election law,”’ said Santiago.

Since the bribery of local officials and the Comelec syndicate would be hard to prove, Santiago said the massive spending on TV ads alone should justify the “declaration of failure of elections.”

She is thinking of resigning because she does not believe anything will come out of her railing against the practice.

“My own colleagues will simply cross-examine and show me up. I will be challenged to put up hard evidence but the method of proof here is different from a court of law. There is no need for physical or testimonial evidence, only rational evidence is necessary,” Santiago said.

Santiago also vented her ire at GMA and ABS CBN for “bastardizing the electoral process and actively contributing to the mercenary process of turning elections into a public auction.”