Miriam to ‘massacre’ Cabinet execs during CA hearings

After blocking the confirmation of Education Secretary Armin Luistro, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Wednesday threatened to "massacre" more "lightweight" Cabinet members when they face the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA). "This is a very lightweight Cabinet," the feisty Santiago said. "They are so lightweight they are liable to float off their own delusions of grandeur. I'm going to massacre these people." Santiago had earlier objected to the confirmation of Luistro's appointment because of "conflicting interests, gross ignorance of the law, and political deafness." But she said she plans to invoke Chapter IV, Section 20 of the CA rules to block the confirmation of half a dozen more "smug, self-satisfied non-elected appointees" who allegedly spend the people's money trying to destroy her and her colleagues. "They call us names, they try and obstruct and destroy our personal reputation earned after year after year of working ourselves blind at night," Santiago said. "I'm going to teach them a lesson" Santiago refused to reveal who were the appointees she was alluding to but hinted that the Cabinet officials intend to use their appointive positions to have an upper-hand in the 2013 senatorial elections. "They mislead the President when their only field of knowledge is not what is demanded by public service but the ability to profess themselves as nominees for an Oscar award," she said. "I'm going to teach them a lesson, I'm going to teach them a lesson in humility. They have to pass the eye of a needle before I restrain myself from invoking section 20," she added. Section 20 of the CA rules state that any member of the Commission may move for the suspension of any nomination or appointment favorably recommended by a standing committee. "I don’t have to comply with any procedure to be able to impose or to cast in effect my one-person veto. That's why our commission is called very powerful, just one person can veto the 23 other members," Santiago said. Ochoa safe from "massacre" Santiago, however, noted that she will not be blocking the confirmation of Executive Secretary Paquito "Jojo" Ochoa's appointment. "I think these are very good attitude (and) he (has) sound ideas. He is open to other opinions, he is not opinionated. (And) he tries to implement a policy of listening to all experts first before making an official statement," she said. But Santiago said she wished she had invoked Section 20 of the CA rules when they were hearing the confirmation of former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno. "I always wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to the President but now I have changed my mind because of my bitter experience with him," she said. Puno was the Interior and Local Government secretary from 1998 to 2000 during the term of former President Joseph Estrada. He held the same position again from 2006 to 2010 during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Santiago has repeatedly accused Puno of corruption in her in privilege speeches. She also accused him of orchestrating the alleged vote-shaving and vote-padding operations in the 1992 elections that allegedly caused her defeat to Fidel Ramos in the presidential race. Earlier in the day, the CA confirmed the appointments of Consuelo Puyat-Reyes (Philippine Ambassador to Chile), Mercedes Tuason (Philippine Ambassador to Vatican), Noe Wong (Philippine Ambassador to Cambodia), Manuel Lopez (Philippine Ambassador to Japan), Carlos Salinas (Philippine Ambassador to Spain), and Wilfrido Villacorta (permanent Philippine representative to the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations in Indonesia). On the other hand, Santiago said the Commission deferred the confirmation of Francisco Benedicto as Philippine Ambassador to Japan because of a motion filed by Senator Franklin Drilon. - KBK, GMANews.TV