The country’s fightingest senator says that she has been doing poorly on pre-election surveys because people might look for her on the ballot under ‘Santiago’ instead of  her preferred ‘Defensor-Santiago.’

Wailing at the violence inherent in the (patriarchal) system, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago called on the Commission on Elections as well as on other women candidates to take “affirmative action” and  educate voters on the existence, and use, of hyphenated surnames*.

Huzzah for women’s rights and all that, but could it be possible that people have gotten tired of her antics? Granted, nobody can strike fear in the heart of corruption (or anyone) better than Sen. Defensor-Santiago, but after the thousandth time, awe of her well-enunciated tirades and dramatic walkouts sort of fades.

Walkout Number 735

In its place, a creeping suspicion that all this is in favor of political opportunism. After all, if you want to split straws, the ‘Defensor’ in ‘Defensor-Santiago’ is the same ‘Defensor’ as Quezon City’s favorite sons Matias and Mike Defensor, all, all honorable men.

Just before Number 872

One would think that if Sen. Defensor-Santiago hated corruption so much (she does) it drives her mad (uh…), then these two guys would, at the very least, have ruptured eardrums from the rants and lectures she gives them at family reunions.

Since both are apparently hale and hearty, then maybe Sen. Defensor-Santiago isn’t that serious about things. Being a guest candidate of parties associated with corruption doesn’t really help, either.

Also, when you keep walking out and coming back, it tends to look like you’re just looking for an excuse to go home early especially when you’re openly suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

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Given how Filipinos have only recently gotten the hang of quotation marks and other marks of punctuation, expect a plague of extraneous hyphens and dashes soon.