MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Thursday said former Armed Forces chief of staff Angelo Reyes and his lawyer, Bonifacio Alentajan, should be cited in contempt and jailed for asking 4 senators to inhibit in the Senate Blue Ribbon inquiry on military corruption.

Santiago refused to inhibit and said the move was a sham, dilatory and contemptuous.

"It is contemptuous, a revelation of utmost ignorance. That kind of ignorance can only come from a one-celled amoeba. Wag akong ginaganyan ha," she said.

In a letter sent to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Reyes said the 4 senators should inhibit themselves in the proceedings "because, in their own words, they have lost their cold neutrality."

He identified the 4 as Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Antonio Trillanes IV, Francis Escudero and Miriam Defensor Santiago.

For his part, Estrada denied any personal vendetta against Reyes despite the latter's role in the 2001 bloodless revolt that removed former President Joseph Estrada, Jinggoy's father, from power.

Escudero, meanwhile, said it was impossible for Reyes to say that he cannot recall being given P50 million in "pabaon" (send-off money) when he retired as AFP chief.

Reyes filed graft charges against Estrada and former military budget officer George Rabusa before the Office of the Ombudsman after the budget officer accused the former AFP chief of pocketing P50 million in "pabaon" (send-off money) upon his retirement.