If elected president, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago's first executive order will zero in on commercial survey firms which constantly polled her last among fellow candidates.

"First executive act? Investigate the commercial survey firms on why their survey results have no relation to reality. I'm going to have them investigated," she told ANC's Headstart on Friday.

"These guys are up to no good. These are criminals. They are trying to shape and manipulate the mind of the Filipino voters so that they can vindicate themselves. So in effect, we’ll be allowing the survey firms to dictate to us who will be our candidates," she added.

Santiago said she wouldn't run for the presidency if it weren't for the clamor of the youth, whose independent campus surveys she topped.

"So how do we reconcile that with the fact that the commercial surveys have different leading contenders according to their own time schedule?," she said.

"Do you mean to say that there are no college students already registered as voters? I want to prove the veracity of this situation. We cannot just sit down and take the antics of the commercial surveys," she added.

She said she wants to know who owns these survey firms and what their political connections in society are. These firms, she added, are becoming influential in the individual decision of the electorate.

Aside from the morale boost that they have given her, Santiago also believes the youth is her edge over other candidates.

"I can influence the youth, directly influence them. If you have seen my TV videos on different channels, you’d see that the reception for me is always riotous," she said.

After carving a place for the youth in her administration, Santiago said she will turn her focus to the big fishes of corruption, and promises to "run after the crooks, especially those in well-tailored suits."

She believes that the next set of leaders should pursue cases against President Noynoy Aquino, Vice-president Jejomar Binay, and other members of government who are involved in corrupt practices.

"It should be part of the continuing effort because corruption is so embedded in our bureaucracy. You cannot get rid of it in a month or 6 months," she said.

Santiago, whose health was perceived to be deteriorating, also vows to finish her six-year term if elected president.

"It would be stupid to run for a six-year term and just decide, for example, to stay in power for four years. You cannot finish your programs of government," she said.

Although she admitted that she may be "healthier or more energetic and more creative" in her last presidential bid, she said she has earned as much since then.

"Today, I have what I didn’t have in 1992—I have wisdom, borne of experience in government. You cannot write about these things in books. You have to actually do them in the field," she said.