About Miriam Defensor Santiago
Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago (June 15, 1945 – September 29, 2016) was a Filipino politician and lawyer who served in all three branches of the Philippine government: judicial, executive, and legislative. Defensor Santiago was known for being a long serving senator of the Philippines and an elected judge of the International Criminal Court. She is 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. 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 defeated in events that involved a car crash injury and power outages during voting process. Defensor Santiago would then serve three terms in the Philippine Senate. 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 riot near Malacañang Palace. In 2012, Defensor Santiago was elected as a judge of the International Criminal Court. She later resigned from the post, citing chronic fatigue syndrome. On October 13, 2015, Defensor Santiago 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. 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 the sixth person ever to be awarded. Defensor Santiago was known as the "Iron Lady of Asia". She is colloquially known in Philippine pop culture as simply Miriam or MDS and is cited for her dedication to public service in the Philippine government. She became the first female editor of the student newspaper, The Philippine Collegian, and was twice appointed Reserve Officers' Training Corps muse.
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