Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago insane? You must be out of your mind Atty. Pangcoga!

Is insanity one of the grounds for disqualifying someone aspiring for a senatorial post? I checked my 1987 Constitution and no where do I find sanity as part of the pre-election qualifications for a senator:

Sec. 3, Article VI. No person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, and, on the day of the elections, is at least thirty-five years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the elections"

Under the Omnibus Election Code, let us check the grounds for disqualification:

Section 12 of the BP 881 or the Omnibus Election Code which provides as follows:



Sec. 12. Disqualifications. – Any person who has been declared by competent authority insane or incompetent, or has been sentenced by final judgment for subversion, insurrection, rebellion or for any offense for which he has been sentenced to a penalty of more than eighteen (18) months, or for a crime involving moral turpitude, shall be disqualified to be a candidate and to hold any office, unless he has been given plenary pardon, or granted amnesty.

So, there, a candidate can only be disqualified if rendered insane or incompetent by a "competent authority," meaning, declared clinically insane by a doctor or the National Mental Hospital.
 
Why am I talking about this now? Because a Palace hack filed a disqualification case against Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on the grounds of "insanity".
 
The lawyer, a Muslim by the name of Nombraan Pangcoga, director of the Philippine Muslim Affairs, charged Santiago of insanity and asked another lawyer Atty. Bonifacio Alentajan to file the disqualification case, well beyond the reglamentary period for filing such a case before the Supreme Court.
 
Seemed that the one insane is this Pangcoga, who probably filed the case just to lick the behind of a Cabinet member out to discredit the good senator. Any lawyer would know that the case will not stick in court, unless, of course, there is a document that they could present showing a doctor declaring Santiago, "insane" or "incompetent".
 
Pangcoga should also know that even if there are evidence showing graft and corruption against Santiago, she should first be charged and declared guilty by final judgment, meaning by the Supreme Court, before anyone could actually file a disqualification case, citing as grounds a case of graft.
 
Tsk,tsk,tsk. Seemed like this ass-licker by the name of Pangcoga is heading to the gallows. And Alentajan too for consenting to file such a nebulous case against Santiago. The PR man who made this yarn is also responsible and will probably get himself shot by his bosses anytime soon.
 
Senator Santiago, for all her faults, is a brilliant lawyer. She is the most eloquent among the Senators. Sometimes she speaks her mind louder than the others but Santiago is definitely not insane.
 
This is not the way to discredit somebody like Santiago who already distanced herself from the Arroyo administration.
 
Now, here's the catch---is there a "silent prodding" or is there a "blanket authority" given by somebody high up there to publicly discredit and malign the reputation of Senator Santiago? As they say, these Cabinet members do not act independently from Mrs. Arroyo.

he disqualifications to be a candidate herein provided shall be dee