Press Release
December 22, 2009

MIRIAM: CABINET MEMBER BEHIND DEATH THREAT,
 COMELEC PETITION

        Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said that "a certain notorious cabinet member" is behind the death threat she received, and the disqualification case filed against her, both last Monday.

       "I will name the cabinet member when the Senate resumes session in January. With my parliamentary immunity, media can then freely identify him without facing libel charges," she said.

        Santiago, in yesterday's programs on Channel 2, Radyo Bombo, and other stations, said that last Monday, she herself received a death threat by phone in her Quezon City home, at the same time that her staff in her Quezon City Office were getting a copy of the "scurrilous" petition against her.

        "This is the handiwork of a PR firm hired by the cabinet member to avenge himself against my public hearings, which showed he has stolen billions from public funds. The timing alone is meant to unnerve me just before Christmas," said Santiago , a lawyer and multi-awarded trial judge.

        The senator said that both the death threat and the disqualification case were filed on the same day that the latest Pulse Asia survey results ranked her No. 1-4 among senatorial candidates.

        "An unknown male voice told me in Tagalog to stop speaking at rallies, or else something dire would happen to me. So shoot me. I don't scare easy. If the cabinet member is serious, he should hire physical assassins to shoot me on a platform stage. That way, the public will see how vicious he is," she said.

        Santiago laughed off the death threat and threatened to expose the cabinet member even more to public ridicule during her speeches.

        "In my first political rally with the NP, I gave a running account of the corruption scandals I investigated, such as the Euro generals, publicly-funded TV infomercials, and the malversation of billions in road users funds. In all these scandals, the cabinet member was involved," she said.

        Santiago also said that the petition itself is proof of a smear campaign, because it delivered "a dirty low blow."

        The petition charges that in 2003, when Santiago lost her son, it was not due to suicide, in effect charging her with the crime of killing her own child.

        "This is not an ordinary smear campaign. It is political sadism, intended to make me rewind my maternal anguish," she said.

        Santiago said that she expects the Comelec to summarily dismiss the petition, because the deadline was December 6, but the petition was filed only on December 21.

        The senator said that her legal staff will file separate disbarment complaints with the Supreme Court against both the petitioner and his lawyer, on grounds of deceit, malpractice, violation of the lawyer's oath, and other unethical conduct.

        Santiago said that the varied allegations in the seven-page petition are merely a rehash of all smear campaigns thrown at her since 1992 when she ran for president.

        Santiago said that under the Comelec Rules of Procedure, any petition to deny due course or to cancel a certificate of candidacy must be based on the exclusive ground that any material representation in the certificate of candidacy is false.

        "The petition did not even include any ground for alleged material representation as required by law. Instead, the petition is a collection of the classic lies of character assassination. Thus, it is clear that the petitioner and counsel do not even know their law," she said.

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