Miriam Defensor Santiago

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Miriam Defensor Santiago

Senator of the Philippines 1995–2001, 2004–incumbent
Secretary of Agrarian Reform 1989–1991
Commissioner of Immigration and Deportation 1988–1989
Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge 1983–1987
Political Party:	People's Reform Party (1992 to date)
Born:	June 15, 1945 (age 61) Iloilo City
Spouse:	Narciso Y. Santiago, Jr.

Miriam Palma Defensor Santiago (born June 15, 1945) is a Filipina politician and a Senator of the Philippines. She is known popularly simply as Miriam. She is the founder and current leader of the People's Reform Party as well its former presidental candidate.

Contents 1 Early Life and Studies 2 Private career 3 Political Life 4 Personal life 5 References 6 Published Works 7 External links

[edit] Early Life and Studies

Santiago was born in Iloilo City, Iloilo to District Judge Benjamin A. Defensor and Dean Dimpna Palma Defensor. In her youth, she was an accomplished student, becoming the valedictorian of her graduating class for both elementary and high school.

Santiago graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of the Philippines in 1969. She was the first female editor-in-chief of the university's student newspaper, The Philippine Collegian, in its 50-year history. Santiago then attended the University of Michigan Law School, receiving a Master of Laws degree in 1975 and a Doctorate of the Science of Jurisprudence in 1976.

In 1986, Santiago was recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Professionals of the Philippine Jaycees. In 1988, she was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service.^[1]

[edit] Private career

Santiago was a political science professor of Trinity College of Quezon City from 1971 to 1974 and concurrently Special Assistant to the Secretary of Justice from 1970 to 1980. She was also a member of the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures from 1977 to 1979. She served as a legal officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland from 1979 to 1980.

[edit] Political Life

After President Corazon Aquino declared her intention not to seek another term in the 1992 elections, Santiago ran for president, seeking Aquino's endorsement. She founded the People's Reform Party and invited Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. to be her running mate. The party did not have any other candidates at the national level and endorsed only local candidates Alfredo Lim and Lito Atienza for the position of mayor and vice mayor of Manila. Aquino decided instead to back her then-Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos in his bid for the presidency.

Initial results of the election tabulation showed Santiago leading Ramos.^{[citation needed]} Following a string of power outages, the tabulation concluded and Ramos was declared the winner. Santiago filed a protest before the Supreme Court acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, claiming massive electoral fraud and citing the power outages as evidence. Her protest was eventually dismissed.

Santiago returned into public attention when she ran for the Senate of the Philippines in 1995 elections, again as a candidate of her own People's Reform Party. As a Senator, Santiago became a vocal critic of the Ramos Administration.

Santiago again ran for president in the 1998 elections and invited fellow Senator Francisco Tatad to be her running mate. Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino candidate Joseph Estrada won the election and became president, though Santiago again made claims of election fraud.^{[citation needed]} After the election, Santiago returned to the senate.

In 2001, Santiago opposed the impeachment trial of Joseph Estrada on the grounds that it was unconstitutional, citing her background as a judge.^{[citation needed]} On January 13, 2001, Santiago and 10 other senators voted against the opening of a bank envelope. The vote ended the impeachment trial and led to the Second People Power Revolution which removed Estrada from office. she even gave the remark that she will jump headfirst from a helicopter in Luneta if Estrada gets removed from power but later recanted and said "I lied". Santiago ran for reelection in the 2001 elections following the Estrada's removal, but was not reelected.

In the 2004 elections, Santiago ran for senator under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's K4 coalition and won. She currently holds the position of chairperson and lone government official of the People's Reform Party. Her office in West Triangle, Quezon City offers a library of her written books.

Santiago announced her intentions to apply as one of the possible candidates to fill the post of Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban upon his retirement in December 2006. Ultimately, the Judicial and Bar Council removed Santiago from the shortlist of candidates for the position.^[2] Santiago openly criticized the move, questioning the qualifications of Panganiban and labelling the Supreme Court an "old boy's club" for not admitting outsiders into their fold.^[3] The shortlisting came after all the nominees, save for Santiago, boycotted a public interview held by the Judicial Bar Council that aimed to improve the institution's transparency.^[4]

[edit] Personal life

Santiago is married to Narciso Yap Santiago Jr., her former classmate at the University of the Philippines. Narsing, as he is known to many, was once an undersecretary for Interior and Local Governments, and is currently a presidential adviser for revenue enhancement. He is also a respected businessman. They have two adopted children: twins Megan and Molly born in 1996. Santiago's brother, Benjamin Santiago Jr., is a retired general who served as Philippine Air Force commander and Armed Forces Chief of Staff. He is currently an ambassador-at-large for counter-terrorism. Two of her cousins are congressmen. Matias Defensor represents the 3rd district of Quezon City, where Santiago resides, and Arthur Defensor represents the 3rd district of Iloilo, Santiago's hometown. Santiago's nephew, Michael Defensor, is the current chief of staff of Malacanang.

Santiago has two biological children, Narciso III and Alexander Robert. Alexander Robert passed away on November 20, 2003.

[edit] References

[edit] Published Works

• Santiago, Miriam D. (1994). The Miriam Defensor Santiago Dictionary. Narsan Publishing. 
• Santiago, Miriam D. (1993). The Politics of Reform in the Philippines. Narsan Publishing. 
• Santiago, Miriam D. (1991). Inventing Myself. Narsan Publishing. 

[edit] External links

• Senate of the Philippines
• Miriam Defensor Santiago's Official Website
• Detailed Biography of Miriam Defensor Santiago from the RM Foundation
• Miriam Defensor Santiago's Blog

Senators of the 13th Congress of the Philippines
Angara | Arroyo | Biazon | Cayetano | Drilon | L. Estrada | J. Estrada | Enrile | Flavier | Gordon | Lacson | Lapid Lim | Madrigal | Magsaysay | Osmeña | Pangilinan | Pimentel | Recto | Revilla | Roxas | Santiago | Villar