by FFE PH News staff

Miriam Defensor Santiago comes back to expose more dirt on Juan Ponce Enrile following his privilege speech where he called her a “bitter and obsessive hater”, but is the Senate floor the right place for the two senators to be mudslinging each other?

“King of a smuggling empire” and a “psychopathic hypersexualized serial womanizer.” These are just some of the not so savory monikers Santiago gave Enrile in her privilege speech in the Senate yesterday.

An angry Santiago lashed out on Enrile in retaliation to his privilege speech, in which he attacked Santiago for accusing him as the real mastermind in the pork barrel scam, involving the misuse of P10 billion worth of government funds.

(1/1) Enrile, contrary to logic & common sense, hopes to evade criminal prosecution & public outrage over his plunder

— Miriam Santiago (@senmiriam) December 4, 2013

(2/2) by resurrecting campaign dirt against me which are over 21 years old. Dream on, Tanda. — Miriam Santiago (@senmiriam) December 4, 2013

My attacker is the icon of shameless lying. He is an incorrigible liar & criminal, as brought out by his crimes against the Filipino people. — Miriam Santiago (@senmiriam) December 4, 2013

I refused to kowtow to him even during the dark days of martial law.

— Miriam Santiago (@senmiriam) December 4, 2013

Enrile is the mastermind of the biggest plunder case in Philippine history.

— Miriam Santiago (@senmiriam) December 4, 2013

Enrile is the Drama King of corrupt politics!

— Miriam Santiago (@senmiriam) December 4, 2013

I hope that this clash of titans in the Senate will lead to an Armageddon in Philippine politics.

— Miriam Santiago (@senmiriam) December 4, 2013

If he’s brave, he should switch place with me: He should be funny & I’ll be the asshole.

— Miriam Santiago (@senmiriam) December 4, 2013

He looks like a female llama surprised in her bath. He reminds me of nothing so much as a dead fish, before it has time to stiffen.

— Miriam Santiago (@senmiriam) December 4, 2013

Enrile denied the accusations and called them the “imaginings of a spiteful and bitterly hostile mind” and expressed puzzlement as to why Santiago is “so obsessive and bitter,” in his own privilege speech last 27 November.

Santiago, not contented with her accusations of Enrile being “most guilty” in the pork barrel scam during Senate probe of Janet Lim-Napoles, came back fighting.

“After his personal attacks against me, he expects that I shall be cowed to silence by his usual bluff and bluster. That is not going to happen,” Defensor said.  “No matter who devilish his power or fabulous his ill-gotten wealth, I refuse to be coerced by Enrile!”

Enrile playing Bejeweled on his tablet during Santiago’s privilege speech. Photo: The Philippine Daily Inquirer

Enrile, who was present during Santiago’s speech, decided to ignore Santiago’s tirade and chose to play Bejeweled, a tile-matching game, on his tablet instead.

Meanwhile Senator Serge Osmena said that Santiago and Enrile violated all bounds of parliamentary courtesy and should not be tolerated.

“If they want to hate each other that’s fine, but don’t bring it down to the level of debates on the Senate floor because it is discourteous to every member of the Senate. It’s discourteous to the Filipino people,” Osmena said. “This does not help the image of the Senate. This does not affect legislation.

”

Senators in the Philippines, whose duty is to enact laws, are officially paid P90,000 per month but according to Santiago herself, Senators get as much as P600,000- P5 million pesos by chairing and becoming members of committees.

Osmena added that he will take actions to delete their privilege speeches from the Senate records.

Do you agree with Osmena or are the actions of the two Senators reasonable?