MANILA, Philippines – Aside from teen actor Coco Martin, Aurora Rep Sonny Angara has found another endorser – Sen Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

The feisty senator threw her support behind the senatorial candidate running under the administration slate because she said she wants “young people in the Senate.”

“I don’t like octogenarians who are actually campaigning for wheelchairs. I’ve never loved these characters who live in the time warp,” she said in a statement released on Sunday, May 5.

She also cited Angara’s educational background in the University of the Philippines, Harvard University and the London School of Economics as reason for her support. She said the training Angara received from these schools leads her to “doubt very much if he can go wrong.”

Angara expressed his gratefulness for the endorsement, and praised Santiago for her “audacious wit, intelligence…[and] moral courage.”

“An endorsement from Sen. Miriam is no ordinary endorsement as she is no ordinary Senator. Rarely in our history have we seen in one person several separate personas – from legal luminary and wise woman in the Senate, she is also defender of our rights and a champion for the coming generations,” he said.

He added, “Many are powerful, but not influential. She has been and will continue to be both.”

Angara has been in a precarious spot in surveys. He was ranked 8-14 in the most recent Pulse Asia polls. – Rappler.com