Miriam insists on medical leave

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago may be suffering from various ailments, but she is not about to give up her seat in the Senate which runs through 2016.

Santiago, in a letter to Senate President Franklin Drilon dated Jan. 23, said that she would remain on qualified medical leave because of her bout with stage four lung cancer.

How much longer she would remain on sick leave remains unclear, but Santiago said that she intends to perform as much of her official functions as senator with the permission of her colleagues.

“I told you in a previous circular letter that according to the Civil Service Commission, it is the Senate which decides on how long an official leave from office can take. In effect, I would like to tell you that I have decided to remain in office until the end of my term in 2016, on condition that I shall be on qualified medical leave,” Santiago said in her letter.

“This qualification is to allow me to discharge, on a certain priority basis, my important functions as senator, particularly as committee chair, for as long as I am allowed to do so by my condition,” she added.

According to Santiago, she is still undergoing cancer treatment with the assistance of her doctors from St. Luke’s Global City and the Makati Medical Center.

The senator said she intends to go to Los Angeles and New York next week, specifically to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to get a second opinion or further treatment.

“Cancer is characterized by pain, bleeding and fatigue. I hope you will have no objection to my work plan,” Santiago said.

Since late 2012, Santiago has rarely been seen at the Senate because of her ailments, which include chronic fatigue syndrome, hypertension, Vitamin D deficiency and a bone marrow disorder.