Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said Friday a win by her running mate, Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., in the May polls would not make the Philippines the laughingstock of the world.

"The world is preoccupied with many other events. It has no time to make a laughingstock of a person in a tiny developing country that nobody ever heard of," she said on ANC's Headstart Friday.

Santiago explained that it is ridiculous to tie Bongbong to the "sins of his father."

"What kind of philosophy is that?" she said.

She said Marcos was her student in the University of the Philippines College of Law, so she has personal knowledge of his intellectual competence even though the latter eventually dropped out.

She also cited his education in Oxford as a plus because "he’s at least exposed to the intellectual environment there."

Senator Serge Osmeña and Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo have previously said the Marcos win would earn the country such international infamy.

In recent surveys, Robredo is in a statistical tie with Marcos, but Santiago sees a distinct difference between the two.

"Bongbong would be more focused on gathering power and exercising it. Leni will be more focused on the humanitarian and welfare activities of the government,"she said.

This power that Marcos can wield, she added, is not necessarily bad, and "it depends on what he uses the power for."