Miriam: Campaign for int'l crime court post won't affect RH bill defense

As she prepares to campaign for a seat in the International Criminal Court (ICC), Sen. Miriam Santiago is not abandoning her defense of the reproductive health (RH) bill in the Senate. Santiago said she can still juggle her time between campaigning in The Hague in The Netherlands by end-September and in New York in October, and defending the bill. "Mga isang linggo by end of September, at isang linggo rin by end of October. Sa loob ng isang linggo, tatlong araw lang naman nagse-session ang Senado," she said in an interview on dzBB radio. She said she could be absent for a week, then return the next week to answer the points raised against the RH bill, which she is sponsoring. Earlier, Santiago said she may have to go to The Hague where the ICC is located by end-September to campaign there, and by October in New York, where the United Nations headquarters are located. Although the ICC is an independent international organization, and is not part of the UN system, it was born out of the international community's aspiration for the creation of a permanent international court. The Philippine Senate's legislative calendar shows sessions are ongoing from Monday to Wednesday, until October 15. Asked if she expects to fully defend the bill at the Senate, she said, "sigurado yan (that's for sure)." Last Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced it is backing Santiago for a seat in the ICC. Acting Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Antonio Rodriguez said that with Santiago’s candidature, "the Philippines signifies its intention to directly and actually fight against impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern." The DFA said Santiago was nominated “for her expertise in international humanitarian law, experience in criminal law and known advocacy for the Rome Statute of the ICC." The 2011 ICC elections will be held December 12 to 21 at the 10th session of the Assembly of States Parties in New York. Meanwhile, Santiago said there is no need for President Benigno Aquino III to go out of his way to campaign for her. "It will not require a head of state, whether it is a president or prime minister, to do the campaigning," she said. — LBG, GMA News