By: 
Totie Mesia
Date: 
Sunday, November 9th, 2008
After Philippine Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago lost her bid to be a jurist in the International Court of Justice (ICJ,) a position which she aspired for with gusto, she declared:

"When God closes a door, He opens another. I'm afraid that the door that has been opened for me is to remain in Philippine politics and continue to torment my enemies," she said with a hearty laugh. Inquirer (11/09/08. Avendano, C)

The funny quip with some bone from the senator makes Filipinos wonder if Santiago is for real. For her, the ICJ loss is personally irritating as she criticized the manner of selection. Believing the aptness of her qualification which counts a UP law degree and crash "language fluency" course in French in her resume, she and her supporters actively campaigned for the position. In the past, she accused some of her enemies to have worked to derail her candidacy.

Showing the loose cannon ball in her tongue she said: "It's nothing to them if you're sexy, brilliant and knowledgeable," referring to her unapologetic no-holds-barred assessment of her importance which the world body failed to appreciate.

Santiago is known for her shifting loyalties, changing party alliances, labile emotion, and flamboyant rhetoric. She changes plans so often and talks in a bewildering style that befuddle her listener.

Although tormenting enemies is not a desirable job, it appears she fits the position better than what she longed for in ICJ. She believes it is her

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