It’s not my job to defend Bongbong – Miriam

MANILA, Philippines - Presidential aspirant Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said it is not her job to defend her running mate Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. over criticisms of his family. 

Speaking at a forum of presidential candidates hosted by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Pasay City yesterday, Santiago said Marcos could defend himself over alleged wrongdoings committed by his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, during his 20-year-rule.

“He will have to defend himself if he deserves to be vice president. I didn’t team up with him to defend him,” she said. 

Santiago said Marcos is more than capable of taking on his critics based on what she had seen from him as a student and as a colleague at the Senate. 

She said Marcos was her former student at the University of the Philippines College of Law.

 “From what I observed… he’s perfectly capable of intellectualizing the situation that he is in… I have seen in class that Mr. Marcos is more than an average student. Maybe he does not devote enough time to his homework. That is all that a former professor can say,” Santiago said. 

Marcos has been hounded by allegations of massive corruption and human rights abuses committed by his father. 

On allegations that Marcos was somehow involved in the alleged misdeeds of his father and his family, Santiago said she has yet to see any prima facie evidence to support these claims. 

“There has been no allegation about him being the one who personally committed crimes against his fellow Filipinos so I have no basis for condemning him,” she  said. 

“What about the father? Then we are going against the Bible that says: ‘The sins of the father should not be visited upon the children’ and I am a church-going Catholic,” she added.

Legal action

Santiago urged Marcos’ critics to take legal action against him if they believe he has done something wrong. 

“My recommendation is a formal allegation or complaint must be filed in court or before the fiscal and then in court so that we will see if there is any basis at all. In any event, I don’t know of any crime that has been committed by him,” she said.

Santiago said her decision to choose Marcos as her running mate was something that she thought about for some time.

“I have weighed these matters very carefully, I assure you. This man is trying to redeem himself. Let’s give him a chance and if the other side turns out to be the case, that this man is guilty of something that is not sanctioned by our law or by our theology, then let us take the proper steps to ensure that he is punished accordingly. But we cannot punish on the basis of suspicion. That would not be fair and I cannot accept it as a lawyer,” Santiago said.