Back ميريام ديفينسور سانتياغو Arabic ميريام ديفينسور سانتياجو ARZ Miriam Santiago BCL Miriam Defensor Santiago German Miriam Defensor Santiago Spanish میریام دیفنسور سانتیاگو Persian Miriam Defensor Santiago French מרים דפנסור-סנטיגו HE Miriam Defensor Santiago ID Miriam Defensor-Santiago Italian

Miriam Defensor Santiago

In this Philippine name for married women, the birth middle name or maternal family name is Palma, the birth surname or paternal family name is Defensor, and the marital name is Santiago.
Miriam Defensor Santiago
Defensor Santiago in 2012
Senator of the Philippines
In office
June 30, 2004 – June 30, 2016
In office
June 30, 1995 – June 30, 2001
Judge of the International Criminal Court
In office
March 11, 2012 – June 4, 2014
Nominated byPhilippines
Appointed byAssembly of States Parties
Succeeded byRaul Pangalangan
Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
In office
July 22, 2013 – June 30, 2016
Preceded byLoren Legarda
Succeeded byAlan Peter Cayetano
Secretary of Agrarian Reform
In office
July 20, 1989 – January 4, 1990
PresidentCorazon Aquino
Preceded byPhilip Juico
Succeeded byFlorencio Abad
Personal details
Born
Miriam Palma Defensor

(1945-06-15)June 15, 1945
Iloilo City, Philippine Commonwealth
DiedSeptember 29, 2016(2016-09-29) (aged 71)
Taguig, Philippines
Resting placeLoyola Memorial Park, Marikina
Political partyPeople's Reform Party (1991–2016)
Spouse
Narciso Y. Santiago Jr.
​
​
(m. 1970)​
ChildrenNarciso D. Santiago III
Alexander Robert D. Santiago
Alma materUniversity of the Philippines Visayas (BA)
University of the Philippines Diliman (LL.B)
University of Michigan (LL.M, SJD)
Maryhill School of Theology (MA)
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago GCS QSC (née Defensor; June 15, 1945 – September 29, 2016) was a Filipino scholar, academic, lawyer, judge, author, and stateswoman who served in all three branches of the Philippine government: judicial, executive, and legislative. Defensor Santiago was named one of The 100 Most Powerful Women in the World in 1997 by The Australian.[1] She was known for being a long-serving Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, an elected judge of the International Criminal Court, and the sole female recipient of the Philippines' highest national honor, the Quezon Service Cross.

In 1988, Defensor Santiago was named laureate of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, with a citation for bold and moral leadership in cleaning up a graft-ridden government agency.[2][3][4][5] After being appointed by President Corazon Aquino as Secretary of Agrarian Reform from 1989 to 1990, she ran in the 1992 presidential election but was controversially defeated in events that involved a car crash injury and power outages during voting process.[6][7][8][9][10][11] Defensor Santiago would then serve three terms in the Philippine Senate, where she was known for supporting progressive laws, and authored or campaigned anti-corruption bills.[12][13] After former president Joseph Estrada was arrested on April 25, 2001, she was among the politicians who spoke against EDSA II at pro-Estrada rallies that preceded the May 1 riots near Malacañang Palace.

In 2012, Defensor Santiago became the first Filipina and the first Asian from a developing country to be elected a judge of the International Criminal Court.[14] She later resigned the post,[15] citing chronic fatigue syndrome, which turned out to be lung cancer.[16][17]

On October 13, 2015, Defensor Santiago controversially declared her third candidacy for President of the Philippines in the 2016 election after her doctors from the United States declared her cancer "stable" and "receded", but lost the election due to public concern for her health. In April 2016, her last appointed post was part of the International Development Law Organization Advisory Council (IDLO), an intergovernmental body that promotes the rule of law.[18][19] She died from complications from her cancer on September 29, 2016, and was buried days later at Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina. In December 2018, the prestigious Quezon Service Cross was posthumously conferred upon Defensor Santiago, making her the first woman and, so far, only Visayan and the sixth person ever to be enthroned in the country's highest roster.[20]

Defensor Santiago was known as the Dragon Lady, the Platinum Lady, the Incorruptible Lady, the Impregnable Lady, Feisty Senator, The Doctor of All Laws, the Omniscient Woman and most popularly, the Iron Lady of Asia. She is colloquially known in Philippine pop culture as simply Miriam or MDS,[21][22] and is positively cited for her lifelong dedication to public service in the Philippine government.[23][24][25]

  1. ^ "Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago - Senate of the Philippines". Archived from the original on July 23, 2014.
  2. ^ Biography of Miriam Defensor Santiago, The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation; retrieved November 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "Asia Times". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Former FNF Fellowship Student to Receive Ramon Magsaysay Award". Archived from the original on July 4, 2013.
  5. ^ Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. "Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation - Awardees". RMAF. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Anti-Corruption Campaigner and General Lead in Early Philippine Returns". The New York Times. May 13, 1992. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference nytimes.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference www.senate.gov.ph was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Shenon, Philip (May 13, 1992). "Anti-Corruption Campaigner and General Lead in Early Philippine Returns (Published 1992)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "Press Release - Santiago: Youth against corruption". legacy.senate.gov.ph. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  14. ^ "PRESS STATEMENT ON SENATOR SANTIAGO'S ELECTION AS ICC JUDGE". Senate Press Releases. Senate of the Philippines. December 13, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  15. ^ "Passing of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago". International Criminal Court. September 30, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  16. ^ Macaraig, Ayee. "It's final: Miriam steps down as ICC judge". Rappler. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  17. ^ Macaraig, Ayee. "Miriam Santiago: I have lung cancer". Rappler. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  18. ^ "Miriam to join Bill Gates in elite law group". philstar.com. January 23, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  19. ^ "Our People - IDLO". July 2, 2015.
  20. ^ Placido, Dharel (December 3, 2018). "Miriam Defensor Santiago becomes 6th recipient of PH's highest civil service award". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  21. ^ "15 Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Miriam Defensor-Santiago". July 5, 2014.
  22. ^ "Philippines: 'Iron Lady Of Asia' Miriam Santiago Runs For President After Surviving Cancer". Headlines & Global News. October 13, 2015.
  23. ^ "Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  24. ^ "Miriam Santiago: Philippine senator and ex-presidential candidate dies". BBC News. September 29, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  25. ^ "Miriam Defensor-Santiago: A life 'dedicated' to public service". The Manila Times. September 27, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2020.

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