Hontiveros to Miriam: menopause is not the issue

MANILA, Philippines - Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday challenged administration Senator Miriam Santiago to stick to the issues instead of zeroing in on personal matters. This was after Santiago suggested to Hontiveros to read a book on menopause following the party-list lawmaker’s call for the senator’s inhibition from the World Bank road mess probe. "I am not yet in the menopause stage, but I empathize with her if she's at that point in her life cycle," Hontiveros said. “I hope that when I reach that stage I will be wiser. Let us not get personal here using menopause or a woman's beautiful life cycle to put each other down. Let's stick to the issues and let the truth come out," she added. Santiago, an administration senator, earlier reacted to Hontiveros’ call for her to inhibit from the Senate inquiry on the alleged rigging of bids for road projects as reported by the World Bank since among those implicated was First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. Hontiveros had also accused Santiago of doing a "synchronized dance" with Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in clearing the name of Mr. Arroyo. Hontiveros likewise said that it is "sad" that Santiago was mistaken in treating congressional inquiries as formal court proceedings. "[Santiago] knows very well that the rules on evidence do not apply in Senate proceedings as the purpose is not the same as those in court or the office of the prosecutor. That's why Congress has its own rules on investigation, we are not a court. The alternative is to file a good case later based on the rules of evidence. The rules of evidence will apply then not now," she said. - GMANews.TV