Miriam may announce presidential candidancy next month

MANILA, Philippines — Even if she has been diagnosed with lung cancer, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago still considers seeking the presidency in the next election.

In a press conference on Tuesday when she revealed her medical condition, Santiago said she will declare her presidential bid when she recovers from cancer next month.

"I am supposed to be in remission by next month. I am going to announce my presidential candidancy," she said.

Related: Miriam: I have Stage 4 lung cancer

Santiago, however, did not categorically say if she was serious with her plan.

But she cited her huge following on social media and the "mess" created by the Disbursement Acceleration Program of the Aquino administration, which was declared partially unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. 

"It depends really. Maybe God will send me another disease," the senator said in jest.

Santiago first hinted of the possibility of her running for president again last May when a newspaper report said that based on the digital files of whistle-blower Benhur Luy, she was among the senators who dealt with pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

Claiming that her name was only used, Santiago said she may seek the presidency again due to the continuing corruption in the government.

"If corruption is this bad, maybe I should run for president, on the same anti-corruption platform from which I have fulminated all these years," she said.

Santiago first sought the presidency in the 1992 elections but lost to former President Fidel V. Ramos.

Citing the power outages during the counting of votes as evidence of massive fraud, Santiago later filed a protest before the electoral tribunal, but did not succeed.