I’ve always been a fan of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Quirky, occasionally called batshit-crazy, but utterly and incontestably brilliant. She’s one of the few people who have served in all three branches of government: executive, judiciary, and legislative, in her various assignments locally and abroad, and most notably in her recent appointment as a judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Miriam is, without a doubt, the leader that this country needs: a master of laws, and a vocal defender of rights. Which is why when she declared candidacy for the presidential seat of the country, a lot of Filipinos rejoiced. Myself included.

Imagine then the dismay of millions of Filipinos when she finally announced her pick as running mate: Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. — son of the dictator, and himself a proponent of various violations of human rights. That day, I could almost feel the collective shaking of heads, and the dampening of spirits was overwhelming. We could all but ask, “Why, Miriam, why? We trusted you!”

Even then, loyal fans of the good Senator MDS brushed off an obvious mistake. They argued that she was merely being pragmatic: after all, what’s important is the long game — piggybacking on the Marcoses’ wealth and machinery to launch her own campaign is a bold and very risky move, but if it ultimately leads to her victory and consequent rise to the Office of the President, then this hiccup can be overlooked. Sheer desperation due to the lack of any worthy or competent presidential candidate made a lot Filipinos turn a blind eye and stand their ground beside Miriam, even as others walked away as soon as the name “Marcos” was mentioned. It was, after all, part of hoping for the a better future that this country direly needs.

But then, Miriam chose to commit the unthinkable. She told the Filipino people that the Marcoses do not owe them an apology. She ultimately took the hands of the Marcos family and washed them herself, in front of all the oppressed, in front of the families of the disappeared, in front of all those people whose most basic human rights were stepped upon during the dark days of the Martial Law, and in front of the country that’s still feeling the pain of a decades-old wound.

No, she said, the Marcos family should not be held liable. In her words: “[It] was all a result not of a familial discussion but a result of policy decisions of the executive department of the government—President Marcos and his advisers.” (GMANews Article)

Really, Miriam? After Imelda — on a daily basis — flaunted her ill-gotten wealth, stolen from the hands of the poorest Filipinos? After Imee and Bongbong, during the height of the Martial Law, were known to be responsible for the sudden disappearances and even deaths of various youth activists? Dear Miriam, it was not just Ferdinand who shat on the Filipino people. It was their entire family who took a dump on this country, who ultimately declared themselves nobility, and stripped this country of its wealth and more importantly — its dignity.

This is why “the sins of the father need not be blamed on the son” is not applicable to Bongbong. His father was not the sole perpetrator of all the atrocities of the Martial Law. You can never put Bongbong “inside a vacuum“, as one person recently put it, and think about only his achievements (including, for the record, a fake Oxford diploma) and not the Martial Law, because fact is, the Martial Law did happen and Bongbong had an active participation. This is why it’s such a huge insult to even consider voting for Bongbong, who says he has nothing to apologize for.

Miriam disillusioned me. She woke me up from her blinding spell. For the longest time, I put her in a pedestal so high that I failed to immediately realize that she left her principles below. Could the cancer have really recurred and metastasized to her brain? Is she really — this time, without kidding — batshit crazy? I could only wonder. But I know that on that day she chose to embrace the Marcoses with open arms, she irrevocably betrayed the Filipino.

Photo taken without permission from Rappler.com