Miriam: Calls for Noynoy psycho test have no basis

Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III has found an ally in fiery Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, who said calls for the former to undergo a psychiatric test have no basis, except for sheer malice. "(There is no basis for that) because I don’t think there is any report that Mr. Aquino did anything abnormal in the course of the campaigns. So, I don’t see how [calls for psycho test] could have a reason except by sheer malice," Santiago told reporters after her speech during the Nacionalista Party (NP) grand rally in Valenzuela City Tuesday night. She also appealed for a stop in mudslinging among candidates for the May polls. Santiago is a guest senatorial candidate of Aquino's closest rival in the presidential race, Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. of the NP. Calls for Aquino to undergo a psychological examination began after a supposed medical report on his alleged mental condition was made public. The NP denied being the source of the document, but insisted that the LP standard bearer should be subjected to such test. [See: NP vows sanctions vs member in fake Noynoy psych test] Not a requirement Santiago explained that a psychological exam is not a requirement for presidential candidates under the 1987 Constitution. "It should be voluntary on the part of the person being challenged and whether he wants to undergo into that but it should not be made a moral obligation as if he is shirking a duty," the senator said. Moreover, Santiago stressed that the call was made too late "because if that is a legitimate call, it should have been made earlier in the campaign, perhaps at the onset of the campaign." "Basically the issue here is both sides have their hands dirty. There are no clean hands here. So can I please appeal, can you please stop this. It is not illuminating for the Filipino public. We are not teaching the public anything in engaging in these kinds of attacks and counter attacks. Who started it? That’s an open question," she added. She said another version of the story was that the Aquino camp deliberately spread the report so that by the time a genuine report on Aquino’s mental health comes around, the public would easily dismiss it. "So we don’t really know, but this is for me gutter politics. I wish everyone would just stop," Santiago said. Stick to issues The lawmaker said the candidates should stick to the issues. "Can we please discuss issues here? In Political Science 101 we are already taught that we must discuss fully any and every issue but we must never deal with personalities, this is dealing with personalities," she said. Santiago said Villar's being poor and the death of his brother are non-issues in the campaign. She was referring to personal tirades against Villar, discrediting his claims of poor beginnings. "That (Villar) might have been living in a rich mansion within Tondo? Come on! Am I a tooth fairy? If you are born in Tondo, that is a generic name for poverty, at least during his time." "And then the story about his brother, why is his brother brought to an expensive hospital? Come on guys! You gotta be kidding me. When a person is in the brink of death will you bother to distinguish whether the hospital is something you can afford or not?" — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV