WAS LAWYER PLANTED?
By Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago

In hindsight, it appears that the lawyer who committed contempt by covering his ears and later directly attacked me by his remarks on the floor, might have been part of a deliberate plot to provoke me. The provocation could have been intended to raise my hypertension to an even higher level, precipitating either a stroke or a heart attack. Or, the provocation could have been intended to make me deliberately lose my temper and make a spectacle of myself.

According to my office staff, that particular private prosecutor was always seated, not with the prosecution panel, but in the gallery. Every time I spoke, he would sneer at me very loudly, intending to make him heard by those around him.

All of a sudden, today, he sat smack dab in the middle of the front row of the prosecution panel. He very conspicuously raised each hand against each ears. The TV news service of a TV station known to be partial to the administration deliberately panned over this lawyer so that he could be seen on nationwide TV.

With these tactics, the usual suspects are up to their dirty tricks. I very humbly submit that I have been effective in educating the public whenever I make a comment on the proceedings. Therefore, to assure conviction of the defendant I have been specifically targeted for character assassination and other forms of self-destruction by the culprits. The more my enemies try to persecute and intimidate me, the more I will continue with my present mode of behavior in the impeachment court.

Today, all my colleagues in the Senate have unanimously supported me, and I take heart.