Miriam defends self vs flip-flop charges on ARMM polls deferment

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago expressed disappointment over media reports that allegedly made her look like a “political monkey" for flip-flopping on the issue of the postponement of elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Santiago, who was among the 13 senators who voted for poll deferment, vented out her frustrations in an open letter sent to members of the Senate press corps on Tuesday. According to a report on dzBB radio, the lawmaker lamented how some media reports insinuated that she was compromising her “intellectual conviction in exchange for political [agenda]." Her vote on the issue surprised many because she was previously against the deferment of polls, calling such a move “unconsitutional." In her letter to the media, Santiago admitted that she decided to change her mind after realizing — with the aid of thorough review and research of the Constitution — that the law provides for the synchronization of elections in the country. Santiago also denied speculations that her last-minute meeting with President Benigno Aquino III on Monday, right before the scheduled plenary debates on the matter, was a factor for her change in position and was part of a “deal" with Malacañang. The lawmaker said Aquino only consulted her on certain issues concerning the dispute on the Spratly Islands in relation to international and constitutional law, which she said she was an “expert" of. Poll deferment was not even discussed during her meeting with the President, she added. Santiago used to staunchly oppose the postponement of the August elections in the ARMM, saying that those who supported the deferment should instead be sent to quake-hit Fukushima in Japan, where there is radiation threat due to several damaged nuclear reactors in the area. In a 13-7 vote, the chamber approved on third and final reading Senate Bill 2756 seeking to synchronize the ARMM polls with the May 2013 midterm national elections. Apart from Santiago, other lawmakers who voted for the measure were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate President Pro Tempore “Jinggoy" Estrada, Majority Floor Leader Vicente “Tito" Sotto III, and Senators Franklin Drilon, Ralph Recto, Teofisto Guingona III, Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Gringo Honasan, Pia Cayetano, Lito Lapid, and Antonio Trillanes IV. During plenary sessions on Monday, Santiago was the very first lawmaker to stand up and support Drilon in declaring the postponement as constitutional, according to the radio report. — JE, GMA News