Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines鈥擲enator听Miriam Defensor-Santiago听suspected that her enemy, whom she said 鈥渉as always听wanted to kill听me with his bare hands,鈥� was听behind attempts to drag her听into the 鈥減ork barrel鈥� scam.
鈥溾�oon pa,听gusto na akong tirisin ng听taong 鈥榶un. He has always wanted to kill me with his bare hands. Unfortunately for him, I have nine lives,鈥� Santiago said in a radio interview Wednesday.
She did not name the enemy she was referring to but said this person was also the 鈥渁rch enemy鈥� of former Senator听Manny Villar and wife, incumbent Senator Manny Villar, whose names have also been mentioned in the news in connection with the 鈥減ork鈥� scam.
Citing the 鈥榩ork鈥� records of whistle-blower Benhur Luy, the Philippine听Daily Inquirer named Santiago and the Villars as among those听who had transactions with alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.
But the three strongly denied the听allegations. Santiago said Luy鈥檚 list was 鈥渇ake.鈥�
鈥淎ko pinapanindigan ko na wala akong kinalaman dyan. Kaya nga ang pagkasama ko dyan, una, nanggagaling 鈥榶an sa听 kalaban ko. Hindi naman ako minamahal ng naglabas n鈥檡an. Kung hindi 鈥榶an galit sa akin, bakit nya ako ilalagay ng walang rason?鈥� she said.
(I stand by that I have nothing to do with that list. That鈥檚 why I was included in that list was because, first, it came from my enemy. The person that leaked that obviously does not love me. If he was not angry at me, why would he put my name in it without any reason?)
Santiago also found it incredulous that the Villars would听receive听a measly commission from Napoles.
Senator Cynthia听Villar reportedly听got P500,000 as 鈥渒ickback鈥� allocated for members of the House minority bloc in 2003 with the DOTC as the implementing agency and Jo-Chris Trading as the link to Napoles, while her husband supposedly supplied equipment also from Napoles鈥� firm.
鈥淧ati itong si Cynthia Villar at Manny Villar, some of the richest people in the entire Philippines, bakit sila magki-kickback sa maliliit na bagay na 鈥榶an? Barya lang nila 鈥榶an,鈥� Santiago said.
(Even Cynthia Villar and Manny Villar, some of the richest people in the entire Philippines, why would they get kickbacks from that small project? That is just loose change to them.)
She described her inclusion in Luy鈥檚 records as well as the surfacing of various听鈥減ork鈥� lists听as a 鈥渃lassic case of听muddying the water.鈥�
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