The entry of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago into the 2016 presidential derby more than makes up for the refusal of Mayor Rody Duterte to run. The feisty lady solon from Iloilo has the guts, the fire in her belly, the daring and the raring that can make the campaign more colorful, more exciting and more fun. Secretary Mar Roxas is too formal, too stiff, and too professorial. Mayor Binay is too ''damaged'' in the eyes of the public. And Senator Grace looks too ''hilaw'' not even ''hinog sa pilit." Even as Lady Miriam looks somewhat over ripe, we can say '' may asim pa ang Lola mo."
I can imagine that the dragon lady from Iloilo will most probably dominate the presidential debates. She can articulate both on philosophical and esoteric planes, but she can also throw away street smart banters, pick-up lines, and sarcasm that can make Mar Roxas look sophomoric. Senator Miriam will lecture them on international law and the advanced political theories of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates. She can make Binay appear like a mesmerized and awed boy scout in front of a master and doctor of laws who has the brains, the credentials, and the charisma.
I can foresee that even the media, both print and broadcast, would consider everything that comes out from the mouth of Lady Miriam as scoop. The opinion writers would prefer to write about her, discuss her unorthodox perspectives, and out-of-box theories and paradigms. Rather than deal with the'' colorless, odorless, and tasteless'' statements coming from the haciendero and ilustrado Mar Roxas, or the eager-beavers Grace and Chiz, much less the ''wounded and scarred'' Rambotito from the fiefdom of Makati, the leading writers would instead focus on the much bankable and readable Miriam.
Senator Miriam has brains. In fact, former Congressman Teddy Boy Locsin from Makati used to say that without Senator Miriam, the average IQ in the Senate would be reduced to below zero. And the lady solon can transform herself from a fire-breathing dragon or a monkey-eating dragon to a gentle, meek and Ilongga ''carinosa'' love bird. The lady knows human psychology: she can play to the great joy and delight of the gallery. She can shout invectives in elegant style in one breath, then sound very persuasive and inspiring in the next breath. She has the perfect mastery of human drama. And the masses love that.
The lady senator is an eloquent speaker, although her elegant English is expressed in Ilonggo accent, with a truly Visayan twang. She is an expert debater who can embellish her constructive speeches with an array of ''argumentum ad hominem'' and deliver her rebuttal with a blitzkrieg of ''argumentum ad absurdum''. Although a lot of people do not really grasp the high level perignations of her thoughts, she can clothe her arguments with the masks of funny sarcasms, package them with excessive hyperbole and sugar coat the substance of her thesis, adorn her high philosophies by her literary, even musical rhapsody of words.
What matters most whenever we listen to the articulate solon is that we always bring home some new lines, some unheard-of phrases and high sounding expressions. Although we really do not agree with most of her wild ideas, we end all the more convinced that she is our superior, in intellect. What matters most is that whenever she opens her mouth and bombard us with a ''diarrhea of words'' we always become more learned. We may not understand Lady Miriam much less concur with her dissenting views, most of the time. What matters most is that we always learn something new from her. If not for her age and health issue, I, too, would be joining the millions who will elect her President.