Mirian Defensor Santiago to Juan Ponce Enrile: “Dishonor is yours!

Photo: Inquirer

From ABS-CBNNews.com:

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago is ecstatic over the decision of the Supreme Court striking down the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

“There’s a God, after all,” she said in a press statement issued after the SC announced its decision on Tuesday.

Santiago reminisced about her tussle with her colleague, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, who distributed bonuses last year except to her and 3 other senators.

“Enrile’s arrogance has now been declared as bluff and bluster by the Supreme Court. At the very least, he should offer to commit hara-kiri because this dishonor belongs to him,” she said.

She said the decision is a vindication for her and the entire Filipino electorate.

“Enrile and I engaged in hand-to-hand combat in December 2012. He tried to bully me with the help of his attack dog, Sen. Panfilo Lacson. Thereafter, I fell ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and have been suffering the ailment for nearly a year. Getting sick over the pork barrel scandal was well worth it, now that the Supreme Court has validated my position,” she said.

Their tussle over the lump sum started in December 2012 when Santiago cried over Enrile’s distribution of alleged Christmas bonuses, which she said was illegal.

She added it was a deliberate omission of Enrile’s enemies. Enrile was then Senate President.

The high court voted 14-0 to strike down the PDAF. Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco inhibited.

The SC also ruled that the Malampaya fund can only be used for energy-related projects and not “for such other purposes as may be hereafter directed by the President.” The justices voted 13-1 on this issue.

The PDAF was supposedly siphoned to ghost projects in the scam allegedly perpetrated by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.