I wasn’t in town when Miriam Defensor Santiago and her hubby, Jun Santiago, marked their 40th wedding anniversary with a glitzy and glittering renewal of their betrothal vows at the Manila Cathedral.

I was in San Francisco, but it was as if I was physically at the cathedral just the same, thanks to the full coverage by the Philippine media of the big to-do.

The feisty senator always makes good copy whatever she is saying, or doing. That’s how she has set herself apart from the rest of her colleagues in the Senate. She has so endeared herself to the public that even her occasional tantrums or outbursts get page-one or prime- time treatment. In short, she has always been a darling of the media.

The added fact that her June 19 entourage and A-list guests consisted of the most prominent political figures in the country made it a rare media event. President Aquino stood as best man, and at least two former presidents—Erap Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo—topped the list of attendees. It was a gathering of former and incumbent holders of political power, so it was not surprising that former first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos also stood among the glitterati.

This was a historic media event that had generous portions of the so-called element of prominence that the media like to dish out for the delectation of their readers or audiences.

What stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb, of course, was the absence of former President Fidel V. Ramos. This was not surprising, however. (It’s no secret that Miriam and Fidel have nurtured a mutual dislike for each other since the presidential elections in the early 1990s. Without going into details, suffice it to say that Miriam apparently hasn’t forgiven him ever since.)

The copious media accounts that I read in San Francisco said it was a rainy day when the Santiago couple walked down the aisle. The bride was fashionably radiant in her flowing gown. As she knelt beside her groom, head humbly bowed like any other supplicant before the altar and officiating priest (no less than Julio Cardinal Rosales), she was the very picture of piety and quietude.

Definitely out of character—was my slightly disappointed personal observation. I’ve always pictured Senator Santiago in my mind’s eye as the nemesis of scoundrels in public office. Perhaps, I thought amusedly to myself, the more “in-character” getup would have been an amazon’s armor with a Viking helmet; complete with a broadsword on the right hand and a round metallic shield on the left.

Of course, that was only a fantasy that somehow summed up my personal perception of the lady senator. She had long won my respect by consistently playing the role of an aggressive spitfire ready to cross swords with all that represent nonsense and blatant corruption in the government. In that mold, Senator Santiago is hardly the sort one would lump with blushing brides, hapless damsels in distress and clinging-vine types.

Her gown, by Inno Sotto, was ruby red, of course, the affair being the Santiagos’ 40th or ruby wedding anniversary.  

But I’d say the 40th anniversary color was very appropriate, too, for those who might be thinking of messing with the senator in her unending campaign against irregularities in the government, no matter who gets hurt.

As everyone has come to know, Senator Santiago earned fame through the years for her tirades against the many blunders and sins of bureaucrats in the bureaucracy. What made those tirades inimitably her own was the colorful English she used with a heavy Ilonggo accent.

And so it is that even until now, each time she blasts off, it’s a must for journalists to cover. The higher the position of the object of her ire, the more irreverent she becomes. The amazing thing is that she always gets away with it.

She has become widely admired and loved because she has provided a strong voice to the innermost sentiments of the angry, neglected and dissatisfied public. In other words, she has become the spokesperson, or champion, of the meek.

I’m reminded of a particularly nasty privileged speech Senator Santiago delivered against the property developer, Reghis M. Romero II, several years ago in connection with his bagging the P6-billion Smokey Mountain project. Romero’s company—R-II Builders Inc.—was capitalized at only P500,000, but it landed the project anyway.

Under that contract, R-II Builders committed to fund the entire project. The commitment was never fulfilled. In fact, when it became obvious that R-II never had the financial muscle to undertake the project, the government—under the Arroyo administration—had to take over the project. Despite that, however, R-II Builders was able to collect a total of P659.2 million from the Home Guaranty Corp. On top of that, it has since been trying to collect—via the courts, some P1.8 billion more.

In 2005 Senator Santiago denounced the deal as the most disadvantageous and “most lopsided contract in Philippine history.” This denunciation by Senator Santiago, by the way, was what made her the apple of my eye in the Senate. She took the words right out of my mouth!

That was on August 11, 2004, when she delivered an extemporaneous speech adorned with the orange, red and yellow colors of fire and brimstone. I kept a record of that speech, which I am quoting as follows:

“This is a scam even worse than the Amari case. Amari paid the Public Estates Authority…P1.8 billion to buy reclaimed land. In the R-II case, in effect, the NHA paid Romero P3 billion, and then gave the reclaimed land to Romero.

“Where in the world can you find a government that gives a huge amount of money to a developer for the purpose of reclaiming land, and then gives the reclaimed land to the developer? Por Dios Por Santo! This contract had made history. It has to be the most lop-sided contract...executed in favor of a corporation, resulting in huge losses on the part of the government. This is not just graft and corruption spelled out in neon lights; this is sheer, cold-blooded wickedness!”

Now that we have segued to the subject of the botched Smokey Mountain project, we might as well urge the Aquino administration to take a second, hard look at the Smokey Mountain fiasco and the various other operations of this contractor.

Based on the huge payments made by the government to R-II, it may also be worthwhile for the Bureau of Internal Revenue to look into the possible tax liabilities of R-II Builders and Romero’s other business ventures.

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