Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago yesterday on Tuesday said her crackling, soft voice was due to the lingering“cancer symptoms,” but said she had gone over the hump of the disease.
Asked during a press conference why she was gasping for breath when she delivered a speech about her resolution on Edca, Santiago replied —‘(those are) cancer symptoms.’
Santiago reiterated she was earlier diagnosed with left lung cancer.
It was in June last year when the senator announced in a media briefing that she was sick with Stage 4 lung cancer. Upon her return to the Senate a few months later, she told reporters she had conquered cancer due to a ‘miracle drug.’
Having licked her cancerous cells, Santiago whose term as senator ends on June 30, declared she was running for President under her own political party People’s Reform Party.
But Santiago admitted that she felt worse and worse because the medicines she was talking was no longer working.
However, during this month a new medicine for cancer came out. She said this medicine had never been dreamed of and it was very costly.
‘Pharmaceutical companies make a lot of money because they spent a lot for its research and development. They are developing this medicine almost a revolutionary rate. The doctors cannot believe it themselves,” Santiago pointed out.
However, it was not clear if Santiago took the new cancer drug with a revolutionary price tag.
She merely disclosed that when her condition turned worst, her medicine was changed ‘because it was programmed to resist me after a while.’
‘And when I was at my worst, it was changed so I got better. And that’s when I decided I will go back,’ she added.
Santiago said she is now back to her old schedule when she engages the youth by delivering speeches before them. Santiago emphasized she has an advantage over the other presidential bets because she gets three to four speaking engagements a week.
‘My advantage is that I have all these invitations and I can virtually choose at what rate should I speak to the youth of the country, whether I want to speak twice a week, three times a week, but others don’t .”
Santiago said she had earlier denied all speaking invitations due to her condition, but started accepting them this week.
Dr. Sylvia Estrada Claudio earlier asked Santiago to reveal in public her medical records to ensure that she can finish her 6-year term should she win the presidency.
However, Santiago rejected the request and noted that the Constitution does not require a candidate to reveal in public her or medical records if running for presient.