Still One of My Favorite Politicians, the Late Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago

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It's been some time since Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago died. True, she can be temperamental but she really has a lot of good reasons to be angry. The impeachment of the late Renato Corona was one example. I could remember seething in anger seeing Atty. Vitaliano N. Aguirre II when he covered his ears. Some say she went overboard. Maybe, she did and I think Aguire II didn't deserve to be detained in contrast to instant admonition. I believe that no caucus was needed and making Aguire II get out of the courtroom was more than enough punishment for minor disrespect. She may have clashed with the late Fidel V. Ramos but I can't get enough of her feisty behavior--something I feel the Philippines needs to become a truly disciplined country. 

Some may say that MDS is very maldita or a very mean woman. I did pass through a teacher who was like her. Sure, I didn't get good grades, she could go overboard, but I'm still thankful to that economics teacher. I'd say I'd probably never graduate high school (and I almost didn't graduate) if she didn't ride on my back. I used that teacher as a standard to what MDS is. Some may say she's an idiot because of her 78% board score. What I can't deny is that she had lost due to popularity elections. Back then, she was anti-reform but later, she supported constitutional reform. 


A much bigger act of disrespect IMHO was done by Atty. Harvey Keh. How can Keh as a laywer act on anonymous sources? MDS having been a very experienced lawyer would know that such an act is totally ridiculous. That's why I mentioned Keh in my post about the search for the mysterious Merkado CTTO. How can an educated individual act so idiotic in bringing in Mr. Anonymous? These lines still crack me up until now:
“You’re acting on anonymous source, every time there is something that requires identification of the source the prosecution says there is no source, it came anonymously. Who is Mr. Anonymous? I just want to ask the PNP (Philippine National Police) and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to issue an arrest order against him,” the Iloilo senator said.

It was one thing MDS blew up at the prosecution panel for what might be a shoddy handling of the pieces of evidence. It was another thing that she had to deal with Mr. Anonymous. I certainly was pleased to see Atty. Neri Colmenares among the berated. Colmenares doesn't deserve any respect for his support of protectionism, which I believe is for his own personal interest. The tirades she made were truly needed. I was laughing at the same time, cringing. It was a very badly needed harsh moment to people in the Senate.

Some people were thankful that MDS never became president. Some say that we may have become a chaotic central. Yet, she's practically what I believe is needed by the Philippines in a nation full of stubborn people. An opinion from The Philippine Star by Alex Magno showed the problems of the presidential system. The article talked about Mahathir Mohamad (who's still alive in his 90s) and I agree with this part:

If Malaysia had a presidential system of government, Mahathir might have never become its leader. Tough-talking, brutally frank and often abrasive, this man could not win a popularity contest.

Even if, hypothetically, Mahathir was elected president of a Malaysia under a presidential system, the man might not have accomplished what he did in a parliamentary setting. The legislature would have obstructed his most dramatic innovations. His team might have spent precious time and energy attending endless congressional investigations. Other aspirants to the top-post might have constantly conspired to cause his failure or smear him in the public eye as a means to undercut his base of public support.

MDS is practically a tough-talker, brutally frank (such as when she berated the prosecution panel during Corona's impeachment trial), and often very abrasive. An abrasive person is very quick to criticize and may oftne make jokes at another's expense. They would often give out unsolicited adsvice and have no filters. She was very abrasive when it came to what mattered. She no longer cared if she was talking too loud, not especially when the prosecution wasn't doing its job well. She also gave Keh a verbal beating.

I still can't get over how MDS roasted Alan La Madrid Purisima. Purisima certainly should've not intervened. Until now, I still refuse to believe that the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III supposedly reinstated him. The way she spoke made me laugh but feel anger towards Purisima at the same time. Purisima's actions were totally not taking responsibility. I don't need a degree in law to understand that to give an advice is to give an order. If my teacher advises me to do something--I need to do it! To say that I could delegate the responsibility but not the accountability is plain foolish. I don't need to read the legal law dictionary that she quoted. It's plain common sense!

I like the way MDS may be rash but she can also apologize for her actions. For instance, MDS did roast Getulio Napeñas saying, "You were a failure but don't take all the blame." She did apologize as she was in a state of shock over the incident. I remember when she made a wrong statement about China. Later, she apologized for what she said about China. That reminds me of my teacher who's pretty rash yet she was more than ready to apologize if she made a mistake. Quite a different attitude from my snotty elementary math teacher who never apologizes for her mistakes.

If the Philippines had a parliamentary system, maybe MDS would've been the Margaret Thatcher of the Philippines. Instead, she lost a popularity contest because of her being tough, brutally frank, and often abrasive. It was a shame that she lost several presidential elections. Some say she's arrogant but I must disagree. I really still think not having MDS lead the Philippines was such a great loss. Having been under a teacher like MDS was a real blessing. I may have not gotten the highest grade under her but I learned something. I may have never been under MDS at all but I wish I were because of how tough she was. Tough but she ends up doing it for the better good. 

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