The Commission on Elections (Comelec) threw out a petition filed by a lawyer seeking the disqualification of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago in the May 10 polls for being “of unsound mind.”
The Comelec First Division Wednesday said the complaint against Santiago was “baseless” and dismissed the case filed by lawyer Nombraan Pangcoga.
Santiago is known for her colorful and witty remarks in the Senate floor that have led to laughter, political controversies, and once, to a diplomatic protest when she accused China of being the “inventor of corruption.”
Pangcoga alleged that Santiago was unfit to run as she had “mood swings, delusions of grandeur, paranoia and is known to lie.” He also asked the Commission to require the senator to submit to a psychiatric exam.
Ruled the Comelec: “There is no allegation, much less proof, that respondent has been declared by competent authority to be insane or incompetent.”
“That Pangcoga has urged the division to subpoena Santiago’s medical records buttresses our conclusion that Petitioner has no evidence to support his claims.”
“We simply cannot allow the process of this Commission to be used as instruments for a fishing expedition,” Velasco said.
The Comelec also junked a complaint against Sen. Sergio Osmeña III which charged that the former senator had not completed a prohibitory period of one term or six years since his last term in 2007.
The Comelec, however, said his reading of the Constitution was wrong and there was no legal basis for the disqualification of Osmeña as sought by petitioner Vladimir Cabigao.
“Osmeña can run again as senator in the 2010 senatorial elections and there is no need for him to hibernate for one full term of six years or until 2013,” the decision said.
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