‘JPE is heart of darkness’

Miriam: ‘Tanda’ is pork scam mastermind

MANILA, Philippines - Stung by what she described as personal attacks by Juan Ponce Enrile, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago struck back yesterday, calling the Senate minority leader “the very heart of darkness” and accusing him of numerous transgressions including plunder, the killing of activists during martial law, and even “sexual addiction.”

Santiago’s blistering privilege speech was in retaliation for Enrile’s own delivered last week, accusing her of being a “bitter and obsessive hater” who almost flunked the Bar exams.

In her speech, Santiago said the enormity of the amount involved in the pork barrel scam indicated that it was masterminded by Enrile himself.

“Guided by faith in a just God and in the rule of law, dozens of whistle-blowers have testified in writing and provided supporting documents to prove that the very heart of darkness is the leadership of the Senate itself,” she said.

“Notably, the Ombudsman has admitted receiving a memorandum of over 200 pages pinpointing Enrile as the mastermind of plunder,” Santiago said. “That official memorandum validates the charge I aired in the latest hearing of the Blue Ribbon committee, where I first made that very same accusation, based on the lawyer’s thought process of enlightened skepticism,” she said.

Santiago also called Enrile “the icon of shameless lying” for his role in the martial law years. She cited his earlier admission that he had faked his ambush to justify the declaration of martial law.

Enrile, she said, earned the notoriety of being “king of a smuggling empire” after his creation of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority or CEZA in 1995 when he was still congressman.

Santiago also lashed out at Enrile for committing “verbal violence” against her when he delivered a privilege speech degrading her credentials and mental capacity.

Santiago, who had barely attended Senate session in the past few years due to her chronic fatigue syndrome, arrived fully made up at past 3 p.m. yesterday, clad in blue.

Her 12-page speech was titled “Navigating the Crimes of Plunder Mastermind.”

“Instead of presenting evidence to the public of his hypocritical protestations of innocence, Enrile once again chose to steer public attention to what he hopes will be a diversion: the lies and black propaganda hurled against me during the 1992 presidential campaign,” Santiago said.

“This man, contrary to logic and common sense, hopes to evade criminal prosecution and public outrage over his plunder, by resurrecting campaign dirt against me which are over 21 years old! Dream on, old man, aka Tanda,” she added.

She said Enrile had chosen to be silent when he could have requested for an additional hearing and personally interpellate alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Napoles, “who appears to be his BFF or Best Friend Forever.”

While Santiago was delivering her speech, Enrile could be seen tinkering with his Ipad tablet seemingly unmindful.

Enrile is seated in front, or directly across the podium where Santiago delivered her speech.

‘Blackest terms’

Santiago said she was enraged by Enrile’s portraying her in the “blackest terms” in his speech last  week.  She reminded Enrile of her exemplary background as winner of the 1998 Magsaysay Award for government service.

She accused Enrile of violating Senate rules when he personally attacked her character last week “by appealing to personal prejudices rather than to reason.”

“I shall charge him with disorderly behavior with the ethics or the rules committee, punishable by suspension for 60 days,” she said.

Santiago said Enrile had long lost his credibility for reversing his own statements in the past.

After admitting having faked his ambush, Enrile did a volte-face and claimed that the ambush was real after all.

“He eats his own words for breakfast. In the law of evidence, he has absolutely no credibility,” she said.

Sen. JV Ejercito tweeted from his side, saying he felt “very tense” as Santiago was delivering her spiel.

Ejercito said he was literally caught in the crossfire because he was seated very near the two feuding senators.  

Santiago said there was no basis for Enrile to question her mental health considering her credentials. She called the 89-year-old Senate minority leader “Mr. Dementia.” 

“By comparison, Enrile with his eternal philandering and unexplained wealth desperately needs a shrink, as a mental health measure. His mind is sick, sick, sick,” Santiago said as she raised her three fingers just like Katniss Everdeen in the movie, Catching Fire. Santiago then gave a smiling Enrile dagger looks.

Ping hit

Santiago also lambasted former senator Panfilo Lacson for being “so close” to Enrile. She said Enrile provided safe haven to Lacson in Cagayan after a Manila court issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

“That is why these two men are so close that it can only be called a relationship with feelings,” Santiago said.

“This early, Lacson’s propaganda team is already touting him as a presidential candidate for 2016,” Santiago said.  “His latest caper took his campaign at self-projection to the level of the absurd…”

During her speech, Santiago revealed it was Lacson who gave her a dossier against former interior secretary Ronaldo Puno, whose position was being eyed then by Lacson.

Santiago revealed that when she made the expose against Puno over alleged anomaly in his order for mandatory drug testing for all police personnel, Lacson chose to fly to Hong Kong. “The cunning and scheming Lacson gave me the file,” she said.  

Santiago also dusted off a 15-year old article published by the Chicago Tribune, detailing Enrile’s alleged philandering ways.

In Santiago’s speech, Enrile was described as a “psychopathic hypersexualized serial womanizer.”  The Chicago Tribune article noted how Enrile’s wife, Cristina, a socialite, walked out on him after charging him with adultery.

“The other woman is reported to be Gigi Gonzales-Reyes, chief of staff of his Senate office and about 30 years his junior,” Santiago said, noting that Reyes was charged along with Enrile for plunder in connection with the pork barrel scam.

Santiago said Mrs. Enrile was unable to tolerate his chasing after other women, including domestic helpers, cooks and assistants. 

“This is eyewitness testimony that Enrile is psychopathic and urgently needs treatment for his sex addiction,” she said.

Santiago pointed out that Enrile even had the audacity to throw a birthday party for Reyes. Enrile even had to go against the reproductive health law in a bid to court the so-called Catholic vote.

“All naught, because his son, whom he groomed to take over the family’s fabulous financial empire, was convincingly defeated in the last Senate elections, despite reported campaign expenses of P150.797-million –  the highest expense of any senatorial candidate,” she added.

Under-declared net worth

Santiago also hit Enrile for his underdeclared net worth of only P118 million in 2012. Enrile had placed all his properties in the names of other individuals or corporations.

After enumerating Enrile’s properties, Santiago said he could be held liable for tax evasion. “But in his SALN 2012, belying his wanton lifestyle, including corrupt minions and a private army on his payroll, he declared a net worth of only P118 million. His legal expertise is obviously tax evasion,” she said.

Santiago said she was optimistic that Enrile would be punished for plunder.

Enrile is automatically suspended from the Senate once the Ombudsman files the plunder case before the Sandiganbayan, Santiago said. She said the former Senate president would likely remain in detention while the case is being heard.

“If convicted, he will be jailed for 30 years, and his ill-gotten wealth, expected to be in the billions, will be forfeited in favor of the state,” Santiago said.

“It is not true that his advanced age exempts him from criminal liability. He has to pay for his sins, unless he turns state witness and rats on Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. Bong Revilla, and his other co-accused in the plunder case,” Santiago said.

At the end of her speech, Santiago challenged Enrile to a public televised debate on the plunder charge against him, and on his “illegal and immoral” use of the Senate president’s discretionary fund to distribute nearly P2 million in Christmas bonus last year.

“Justice should be done, through the heavens fall,” Santiago said.