Miriam Palma Defensor Santiago QSC (June 15, 1945 – September 29, 2016)

was a Filipino academic, lawyer, judge, author, and statesman, 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 magazine.[1] She was a long-
serving Senator of the Republic of the Philippines.

n 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] She ran in the 1992 presidential elections but was controversially
defeated.[6]
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.[7][8] She later resigned the post, citing chronic fatigue
syndrome, which turned out to be lung cancer.[9][10] In 2016, she
became part of the International Advisory Council of the International
Development Law Organization (IDLO), an intergovernmental body that
promotes the rule of law.[11][12]
Defensor Santiago served three terms in the Philippine Senate. On 13
October 2015, Defensor Santiago declared her 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 in the
election. In December 2018, the prestigious Quezon Service Cross was
posthumously conferred upon Santiago, making her the first and only
woman and the sixth person since 1946 to be enthroned in the
country's highest roster.[13]
Defensor Santiago was known as the Dragon Lady, the Platinum Lady,
the Incorruptible Lady, the Tiger Lady, and most popularly, the Iron
Lady of Asia. She is colloquially known in Philippine pop culture as
simply Miriam or MDS.[14][15]

Defensor Santiago was born Miriam Palma Defensor in Iloilo City, to

Benjamin Defensor, a local judge, and Dimpna Palma, a schoolteacher.
She was the eldest of seven children. She graduated valedictorian in
grade school, high school, undergraduate school. [16] She graduated
high school in Iloilo Provincial High School (now Iloilo National High
School) and served as the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the said high school's
student publication "The Ilonggo". In 1965, Defensor Santiago
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, magna
cum laude from the University of the Philippines Visayas. After
graduation, she was elected to the Pi Gamma Mu and Phi Kappa
Phi honor societies.[17]
She proceeded to the University of the Philippines College of Law. There,
she was champion in numerous oratorical contests and debates.
[1] She became the first female editor of the student newspaper, The
Philippine Collegian, and was twice appointed ROTC muse.[18][19] She
graduated Bachelor of Laws, cum laude, from the University of the
Philippines College of Law in Diliman.[citation needed]
Defensor Santiago went on a fellowship to the United States, and
earned the Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees at
the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She finished both degrees in a
period of only one and a half years.[20] Following school, she took a
position as special assistant to the Secretary of Justice. She also
taught political science at the Trinity University of Asia. She was law
professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, teaching evening
classes for some ten years.[21][22]
She has studied at several universities,
including Oxford and Harvard law summer schools; Cambridge;
and The Hague Academy of International Law. She earned the degree
Master of Religious Studies (without thesis) at the Maryhill School of
Theology.[1]
In Oxford, she was a research fellow at St. Hilda's College and also
took a summer program in law at St. Edmund's Hall. At Cambridge, she
was a research fellow at the Lauterpacht Research Centre for
International Law.

Department of Justice careerEdit

She became a special assistant to the Secretary of Justice for ten years after
her higher studies abroad. At a young age, she became a legal officer to the
United Nations afterwards due to her constitutional and international law
knowledge and experience.[citation needed]
United Nations careerEdit
Defensor Santiago served as Legal Officer of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees at Geneva, Switzerland. She was assigned to the Conferences and
Treaties Section. She became skilled at treaty negotiation and drafting. She
resigned her position when her father in the Philippines developed prostate
cancer.[23]
Judge during martial lawEdit
Defensor Santiago was appointed judge of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of
Quezon City, Metro Manila by President Ferdinand Marcos. She was the
youngest judge appointed to Metro Manila, and exempted from the practice
of first serving as a judge outside Metro Manila.[5] As a RTC judge, she
quickly proclaimed a "no postponement" policy. At that time, cases were
tried in segments that were usually a month apart, resulting in trials that
took years to finish. Lawyers were prone to seek postponement of trial. As a
result, trial judges scheduled ten or fifteen cases a day, so that they could
make up for cases postponed. Defensor Santiago scheduled only five cases a
day, heard each case, and disposed of the highest number of cases in her
first year in office.[citation needed]
Defensor Santiago became nationally famous when she issued perhaps the
first decision to rule against martial law. At that time, alleged illegal public
assemblies were declared as crimes and were punishable by death.[citation
needed] A large group of activist students from the University of the Philippines
and Ateneo, as well as activists in the film industry, staged a rally in a central
business district, and denounced the First Lady for her excesses. To retaliate,
Marcos issued a Preventive Detention Action order which authorized the
military to hold suspects indefinitely, without bail. The students faced the
dire prospect of missing their final exams and, for many of them, missing
graduation. Defensor Santiago suspended hearings on all other pending
cases, and conducted whole-day trials. In the end, she ordered the military to
allow the students to post bail. After promulgating her decision at the end of
the day, Defensor Santiago drove herself to the state university, where she
was teaching law. The Philippine Jaycees, the Philippine Lions, and the YMCA
Philippines all gave her awards for judicial excellence.[1]
Immigration CommissionerEdit
After martial law, in 1988, President Corazon Aquino appointed Defensor
Santiago as commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation.
[1] At that time, the BID was one of the most corrupt government agencies in
Southeast Asia. Defensor Santiago declared the Philippines as "the fake
passport capital of the world", and directed raids against criminal syndicates,
including the Yakuza. She filled the CID detention center with alien criminals,
and ordered construction of another detention center. She extended to legal
aliens protection from widespread extortion by requesting President Aquino
to issue an executive order that authorized the "alien legalization program".
[24]
She received serious death threats, but proclaimed: "I eat death threats for
breakfast".[1][25] A member of the House of Representatives, Laguna Rep.
Nereo Joaquin, delivered a privilege speech in 1992 and denounced her raids
against pedophile communities in Central Luzon run by alien pedophiles.
Defensor Santiago responded by calling him "fungus face".[1][26]
The Rockefeller Foundation named her a laureate of the Magsaysay Award
for government service – "for bold and moral leadership in cleaning up a
graft-ridden government agency."[2][3][4][5]
Agrarian Reform SecretaryEdit
President Corazon Aquino promoted Defensor Santiago to member of her
cabinet, as secretary of the Secretary of Agrarian Reform.[27][28] Under a
controversial law passed by Congress and signed by President Aquino, all
agricultural landholdings were taken by the government and divided among
the farmers. Each landowner was allowed to keep only five hectares, and
each farmer received three hectares. Payment was in bonds of the Land
Bank. To subvert the law, big landowners applied for conversion of the
classification of their land as agricultural, to classification as commercial,
residential, or industrial. The process became the widespread "conversion
scandal of agrarian reform". The DAR officials themselves were the biggest
culprits, because they sold conversion permits for bribes on a market rate
set at certain amounts per hectare involved in the conversion. Defensor
Santiago stopped the conversion scandal, and appeased the landowners by
enhancing the incentives for voluntary offers by the landowners for the sale
of their landholdings, which entitled them to an additional five percent cash
payment. When asked if the hacienda belonging to the president's family
should be covered by agrarian reform, Defensor Santiago replied that the
family's hacienda should be distributed among the farmers. Shortly
thereafter President Aquino accepted Defensor Santiago's resignation. [29]
1992 presidential electionsEdit
Main article: 1992 Philippine presidential election

Defensor Santiago organized the People's Reform Party (PRP) and ran with a

senatorial ticket during the 1992 presidential campaign. Ramon Magsaysay
Jr. was her running mate. While campaigning on 28 April 1991, she was
severely injured in car crash,[30] which she claimed was an assassination
attempt.[31] She was wearing a white bush jacket which became splattered
with blood that gushed from a wound to her head. On orders of President
Aquino, she was airlifted from Tarlac to a Manila hospital. She underwent
surgery on the jaw, and at one point a Catholic priest administered the last
rites of the dying. Two months later, she was back on the campaign trail.[32]
Defensor Santiago has been dubbed as "The Iron Lady of Asia" and the
"Dragon Lady" due to her scathing but bold eloquence both in leadership and
writing. She cites physicist Marie Curie and former British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher as her major influences throughout her political
career, with Thatcher praising her for her book Cutting Edge during their
meeting while the Prime Minister visited the Philippines.[33]
Defensor Santiago was leading the canvassing of votes for the first five days.
[6] Following a string of power outages, the tabulation concluded, and Ramos
was declared president-elect. Defensor Santiago filed a protest before the
Supreme Court as electoral tribunal, citing the power outages during the
counting of votes as evidence of massive fraud. Her election protest was
eventually dismissed on a technicality.[1][25][27][34][35]
The public outrage over the presidential results prompted Newsweek to
feature her and her rival on the cover with the question: "Was the Election
Fair?" In another cover story, Philippines Free Press magazine asked: "Who's
the Real President?". The quote, 'Miriam won in the elections but lost in the
counting' was popularized by the masses.[1]
SenatorEdit

First term, 1995–2001Edit

Defensor Santiago was first elected senator in 1995. In 1997, her presidential
rival Fidel Ramos initiated a "people's campaign" for an infinite presidential
term. Defensor Santiago harshly criticized Ramos' campaign and went to
court. In a landmark case, Defensor Santiago vs COMELEC, she won and
preserved the people's mandate for term limits. She again ran for president
in the 1998 presidential elections, with running-mate Francisco Tatad, but
lost amidst heavy propaganda concerning her mental health, which was later
proven false.[36]
She was one of the few senators who were against the opening of the brown
envelope during the impeachment trial of then-President Joseph Estrada,
who was her foe in the 1998 presidential elections. She said afterwards:
At that time, I wanted to apply the rules of court technically. Since
there is no allegation of wrongdoing in connection with the notorious
second envelope, I voted that we should not open the second envelope
until and after the complaint had already been amended [...] I was
among those demonized because I voted against the opening of the
second envelope – dahil ang paniwala ng taong bayan, kung ayaw
namin buksan ang second envelope na 'yan, may tinatago kami.
(translation from Filipino: because in the belief of the masses if we
don't want to open the envelope, then we are hiding something.)
Estrada was ousted in the Second EDSA Revolution in 2001, but was
pardoned on October 26, 2007 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Defensor Santiago lost re-election to the Senate in 2001.[37]
Second and third term, 2004–2016Edit
Learn more

This section needs additional citations

for verification.

Defensor Santiago ran for senator in 2004 and was elected. She focused on
creating significant laws that changed the country as a whole. She ran again
for senator in 2010 and won. During her three terms, she served as chair
mostly of the foreign relations committee and the constitutional
 amendments committee. She was elected as official candidate of her
party People's Reform Party, serving also as chair of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the Commission on Appointments. She exposed and named
numerous jueteng (illegal gambling) lords and illegal-logging lords
throughout her terms.[citation needed]
In 2011, Defensor Santiago was elected as a judge of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) which hears cases against humanity for former heads of
state. She was the first Asian from a third-world country to be elected to
such a post. She resigned in 2014 after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
She was one of the senators who backed Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato
Corona during his impeachment trial; he was ultimately impeached due to
corruption.
In December 2012, she exposed that the Senate president, Juan Ponce
Enrile, used Senate funds to give away as cash gifts. Every senator, except
Defensor Santiago and two others, received ₱2 million as a chunk of the
Filipino population lived in poverty. This led to the Priority Development
Assistance Fund scandal, which put the Senate president behind bars with
charges of plunder. Defensor Santiago's live Senate hearings in the case led
to public outrage and support for Defensor Santiago's call to abolish the pork
barrel system.
She was the first Filipino elected as a commissioner for the International
Development Law Organization (IDLO) in 2016. Her role in the organization
was advisory to the international law community.[38]
Select laws authoredEdit
The many laws that Defensor Santiago authored include:

 Reproductive Health Act of 2012, which instills reproductive health education

throughout the nation, and was backed by the majority of the population while
criticized by religious institutions in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. [39]
 Sin Tax Law, which improved the taxation of the country and led to the
economic revolutions that bolstered Philippine shares. [40]
 Climate Change Act of 2009, which mandated the entire nation to become a
bastion for climate change responsiveness, mitigation, adaptation, and
management.[41]
 Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which mandated the government to shift the
energy source of the country from coal and oil into solar, wind, and other renewable
sources – this became the foundation for the establishment of numerous wind and
solar plants in the country which made the Philippines the 'Wind Energy Capital of
Southeast Asia'.[42]
 Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, which
safeguarded human rights in the entire nation. [43]
 Magna Carta of Women, which protected the rights of women in the country.
[44]
 Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (Unifast)
Act, which enhanced the educational system in the country, paving way for the
intellectual revolution in urban and rural areas. [45]
 Cybercrime Act of 2012, which protected the nation and its people from
cybercrimes which infested the country's cyberspace. [46]
 Department of Information and Communication Technology Act, which
established the Department of Information and Communication Technology for
better information dissemination and better internet speed in the country
 Archipelagic Baselines Act of 2009, which became one of the major basises
for the country's claims on maritime sovereignty, including the West Philippine Sea.
[47]

2016 Presidential ElectionsEdit

In October 2015, Defensor Santiago announced her intention to run in
the 2016 Philippine presidential elections after her cancer was deemed
'stable' and 'receded' by doctors from the United States. [32][48] She later
confirmed that Senator Bongbong Marcos would serve as her running mate
for vice president. Her campaign focused on the youth sector for which she
heavily advocated, making use of social media. She was a landslide winner in
numerous polls conducted in various public and private universities and
colleges in the country. Despite this, she lost in the elections.[49] Defensor
Santiago was subsequently called "the greatest president we never had",[50]
[51] a title which had been associated with her prior to her presidential run.
[52] The Youth for Miriam, a youth group that supported her on the campaign,
rebranded as Youth Reform Movement and founded a standalone
organization that bears her writings and literature as philosophical pillars.
Retirement and deathEdit
Even after retirement, Defensor Santiago continued to advocate the passage
of many bills for the nation while in her Quezon City home. A few of these
include: the anti-dynasty bill; an act institutionalizing an age-appropriate
curriculum to prevent the abduction, exploitation, and sexual abuse of
children; anti-epal bill; freedom of information bill; and the magna carta for
Philippine internet freedom.[citation needed]
Before her death, various groups in the country have been lauding her to join
the candidacy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretary-
General post where the elected Secretary-General will be positioned for
2018. Among other candidates for the position are AirAsia chief Tony
Fernandes of Malaysia and an unstated representative from Brunei, which is
the lead country for 2018–2022 according to tradition.[53]
She was awarded as a "Distinguished Icon of Legal Excellence and Public
Service" by the University of the Philippines in September 2016,[54] and
posthumously the "PUP Online Personality of the Year Award" by
the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in November 2016.[55]
DeathEdit

Wake of Miriam Defensor Santiago at the Cubao Cathedral.

At the age of 71, Defensor Santiago died in her sleep at exactly 8:52 a.m. on
29 September 2016 while she was confined at the St. Luke's Medical
Center in Taguig from lung cancer; several reports cited that Defensor
Santiago died in her residence in La Vista Subdivision, Quezon City.[56][57]
[58] Santiago's last words according to her husband were, "I accept this. I do
not want to do anything heroic."[59] While her last wish was to remain only in
the memory of her own family.[60] Her body lay in state at the Cathedral
Grottos of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cubao the following day.
[61] Following a Catholic funeral Mass, she was interred at the Loyola
Memorial Park in Marikina on 2 October, beside the tomb of her son
Alexander, who died in 2003.[62][63][64] Santiago's hometown, Iloilo City,
declared a day of mourning for Defensor Santiago[65] and flew the Philippine
flag half-mast from 29 September – 17 October 2016. The local government
said in an official statement that Defensor Santiago 'brought pride and honor
to all Ilonggos'.[66]
In June 2017, members of the Youth Reform Movement lobbied for the
posthumous awarding of the Quezon Service Cross to Defensor Santiago. In
September 2017, Senator Grace Poe, her freedom of information (FOI) ally
and 2016 presidential rival, nominated Defensor Santiago to be awarded the
Quezon Service Cross, the highest honor in the entire Republic, subject for
approval of both houses of Congress and by President Rodrigo Duterte, who
was also her presidential rival. On the same month, Senator Sonny Angara,
who considers Defensor Santiago as his mentor, followed suit by filing
another resolution nominating Defensor Santiago to become a laureate of
the prestigious Quezon Service Cross, just days before Defensor Santiago's
first death anniversary on 29 September. The Senate expressed its full intent
to confer Defensor Santiago the award.[67] The president, through the
Presidential Palace, welcomed the proposal to bestow the award to Defensor
Santiago once both houses of Congress have ratified the document
conferring such award.[68] The House of Representatives is the only body left
that has yet to express its intent to bestow the award to Defensor Santiago.
Most members of the House are against Defensor Santiago's anti-political
dynasty bill which she introduced in Congress. Santiago's bill is backed by
the Constitution itself, where it mandates both chambers of Congress to
enact such a law.[69] On 5 December 2017, the president officially nominated
Defensor Santiago for the award, awaiting concurrence of both chambers of
Congress to officially bestow the award. Defensor Santiago is the sixth
person, the first Visayan, and the first and only woman to be nominated for
the award. She is the sixth person to be immortalized in the 69-year old
national roster.[70][71] In 11 December 2017, the Senate approved the
bestowing of the award to Defensor Santiago.[72] In 20 February 2018, the
House of Representatives approved the bestowing of the award to Defensor
Santiago.[73] In December 3, 2018, the prestigious Quezon Service Cross was
officially posthumously conferred upon Santiago, making her the sixth
recipient and first and only woman to be included in the country's highest
accolade and roster.[13]
Political positionsEdit
Domestic policyEdit
FederalismEdit
See also: Federalism in the Philippines

Santiago is not in favor of federalism, stating in one interview that, "The

masses and the entire electorate will not choose who the president will be.
We leave that choice to a group of politicians, and we know how those
politicians act. Mostly, their actions are always attended by corruption." [74]
Charter ChangeEdit
See also: Constitutional reform in the Philippines

Defensor Santiago was in favor of amending the Constitution of the

Philippines to enhance foreign investments in the country and to mandate
that all high posts in government (senator, congressperson, president, vice
president, governor, mayor, vice mayor, secretaries, undersecretaries, etc.)
should have additional qualifications which are 'a college graduate' and must
pass a duly-accredited government examination. Numerous politicians in the
country are only high school or elementary graduates, and most college
graduate officials have never passed the Civil Service Examination for
Professionals (CSE-P). She argues that positions in government like
administrative assistant must pass the CSE-P as a qualification, 'why not
higher posts too?'.[75]
Anti-political dynastyEdit
See also: Political dynasties in the Philippines

Defensor Santiago was the principal author of the Anti-Dynasty Bill in the
Senate and had been pushing for its immediate passage in Congress for
more than a decade.[76]
West Philippine Sea disputeEdit
See also: Territorial disputes in the South China Sea

She stressed during a live debate that the West Philippine Sea is a sovereign
territory of the Philippines and that the country should have a better military
and police force and assets and should prioritize enhancing ties with allied
nations, especially in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
[77] She was one of the international law experts who criticized China and
aided in the Philippine case against China. The case was won by the
Philippines in 2016. Despite this, China still does not recognize the ruling. [78]
MindanaoEdit
See also: Moro conflict

Defensor Santiago was against the Bangsamoro Basic Law, saying it is

unconstitutional because it specifies that Bangsamoro will become a 'sub-
state' of the republic which is illegal under the law. She prefers a more
constitutional form of the Bangsamoro Basic Law which does not create a
'sub-state' government.[79]
North Borneo disputeEdit
See also: North Borneo dispute

Defensor Santiago was in favor of appointing a third-party to conduct under

international law "inquiry and fact-finding" to resolve the North Borneo
dispute, where the third-party is approved by both the national governments
of Malaysia and the Philippines. She cited the 1907 Hague Convention for the
Pacific Settlement of Disputes as motivator of her legal position. She said
that this can end the dispute as it did in the 1981 involvement of
mercenaries in an invasion of the Seychelles, the 1987 use of chemical
weapons in the Gulf War between Iran and Iraq, and the 1988 destruction of
Korean Air Lines Boeing 747. She said that since no transfer of sovereignty
was involved in the 1878 Deed, no transfer of sovereignty has ever passed to
Malaysia. She added that the Philippines has never abandoned its claim over
eastern Sabah.[80]
Social policyEdit
DivorceEdit
Defensor Santiago publicly advocated for the passage of a divorce law in the
Philippines, saying, "Why would you force [couples] to be together if they
want to kill each other by mere sight?" With respect to her position on
divorce, she clarified that it should be restricted on two grounds: "an attempt
on the life of the spouse by the other" and "when one spouse is already
living with another person, that is adultery or concubinage." In the 2016
Presidential campaign, despite being unable to attend the second debate
citing health concerns, she reiterated on Twitter her position on divorce,
[81] leaving her as the only presidential candidate to favor its legislation. [82]
Abortion and contraceptionEdit
Defensor Santiago took a critical perspective of abortion and supports
maintaining laws against it: "No to abortion, never. I am a very avid
supporter of RH [Reproductive Health] Law, but I will definitely fight to the
death against abortion as a lawyer, not necessarily as a religious person. I
equate it properly with the crime of murder."[83] On contraception, she
stressed the importance of its distribution, especially in poverty-stricken
areas.[81] She was a strong proponent of the Philippines' Reproductive Health
Law, which guarantees universal access to methods on contraception,
maternal health and sex education.[84] According to her, the bill was shelved
for more than 13 years, citing the Catholic Church's opposition.[85] Defensor
Santiago expressed dismay when the RH Law had suffered a one-billion peso
budget cut before the Congress in early 2016. She said if she will be elected,
she will work for a full and conscientious implementation of the law.[86]
LGBT rightsEdit
Defensor Santiago magnified the issues concerning the LGBT community
before the Senate. In the wake of the 2016 Orlando nightclub
shooting incident, she said on a Twitter post: "The mass shooting at a club in
Orlando is appalling and heartbreaking" and "I long for the day when the
LGBT community no longer has to live in fear of discrimination and hate
crimes".[87] Defensor Santiago was one of the senators who advocated the
immediate investigation of the Jennifer Laude case, wherein the American
marine, Joseph Scott Pemberton, killed Laude, a Filipina transgender woman,
in Subic, Zambales. She also supported the passage of the anti-
discrimination bill (SOGIE Equality Bill) which protects the rights of people of
different sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. She was the
first senator in Philippine history to push for the bill's legislation, filing it
repeatedly since 2000.[88]
Capital punishmentEdit
Defensor Santiago favored the death penalty but limited it to heinous crimes,
while maintaining that the justice system should be improved.[89]
EnvironmentEdit
Defensor Santiago vehemently opposed mining. She believes mining is one
of the greatest reasons why local communities are impoverished as most of
the profit coming from mining are siphoned by mining companies away from
the local economy. In addition, mining has made numerous destructive
advances in Philippine society and ecosystems, destroying watersheds and
agricultural lands, as well as rivers and seas. According to an interview
conducted by Haribon Foundation during the 2016 Presidential Campaign,
the organization voted her as the "greenest" in all of the candidates. She was
the main author of the Climate Change Law and the Renewable Energies Law
in the Senate.[90]
InternetEdit
Defensor Santiago advocated the establishment of the Department of
Information which is mandated to speed-up internet connectivity in the
Philippines which she described "the worst internet speed in Asia". She also
advocated for the passage of the Magna Carta for Philippine Internet
Freedom which protects the rights and freedoms of Filipinos in cyberspace,
while defining and penalizing cybercrimes.[91]
TransportationEdit
Defensor Santiago advocated the establishment of a completely new railway
system from Manila to Sorsogon and a new high-speed transit system
connecting Metro Manila to Pampanga, Bulacan. Rizal, Batangas, Laguna,
and Cavite. She also advocated the establishment of a new modernized
 airport and the establishment of new projects in every province in the entire
country.[92]
Awards and honorsEdit
 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, 1988, Asian equivalent of
the Nobel Prize, Magsaysay Awards Foundation [5]
 TOYM Award for Law, 1985 (The Outstanding Young Men) Opened to Women
1984, Philippine Jaycees
 TOWNS Award for Law, 1986 (The Outstanding Women in the Nation's
Service), Philippine Lions
 Philippine Judges' Hall of Fame, 2015, Philippine Judges Association [93]
 Most Outstanding Alumna in Law, University of the Philippines, 1988 [17]
 Gold Vision Triangle Award for government service, 1988, YMCA Philippines
 Republic Anniversary Award for law enforcement, 1988, Civic Assembly of
Women of the Philippines
 Golden Jubilee Achievement Award for public service, 1990, Girl Scouts of the
Philippines
 Celebrity Mother Award, 1991, Gintong Ina Awards Foundation

 Spain – Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (30 November 2007)[94]

 Distinguished Icon of Legal Excellence and Public Service Award (2
September 2016)[54]
 PUP Online Personality of the Year 2016[55]
 : Quezon Service Cross - (3 December 2018, Posthumous)[13]

WritingsEdit
Defensor Santiago wrote at least 30 books, many of which are about law and
social sciences.[1] Among her works is the Code Annotated Series Project
2000, a series of books about laws passed by the Philippine Congress and
Supreme Court decisions. The Code Annotated Series is the main part of
Defensor Santiago's Legal Outreach Program. [95] During her initial battle with
cancer, she continued to work on the 2014 edition of all her law books.
[1] These were published as the 2015 edition of her Code Annotated Series,
by Rex Bookstore.[96]
The doctoral dissertation she wrote for the University of Michigan was
published as a book, Political Offences in International Law.[97] She wrote two
autobiographies, Inventing Myself [98] and Cutting Edge: The Politics of
Reform in the Philippines,[99] the latter being praised by UK Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher.[100]
She published a joke book in 2014, Stupid is Forever, a collection of jokes,
comebacks, one-liners, and pick-up lines she used in speeches. [101] A sequel,
titled Stupid is Forevermore, was published a year later. Both books were
published by ABS-CBN Publishing.[102] The first book was named the best-
selling book of 2014, selling about 110,000 copies in one month.[103]
Personal lifeEdit
Defensor Santiago grew up in a middle-class erudite household with both
parents having higher educational attainments. She is the eldest among her
siblings: Benjamin, Nenalyn, Linn, and Paula Dimpna Beatriz.[104]
She was married to Narciso "Jun" Santiago Jr.,[105] with whom she had two
sons, Narciso III (Archie) and Alexander (A.R.); Alexander committed suicide
in 2003.[106] The couple adopted four children; Megan Santiago, Mallory
Santiago, Mackenzie Santiago, and Morven Santiago.[107] She and her
husband renewed their wedding vows on their 40th wedding anniversary in
2011.[108] She has close relationships with actress and visual artist, Heart
Evangelista, who she has mentored.[109]
Religious viewsEdit
In an interview with Esquire years after the death of her son who committed
suicide, she said:
The only thing I know about God is that God is inscrutable. In other
words, I don't know a single thing about God. I'm clueless about what
God is. Maybe Jesus, or the other historical figures around which
religions had been built, would be more approachable. But God itself,
being on a divine level, I think it's just impermeable to human
intelligence. And there is a very famous classical book called The Cloud
of Unknowing. There's always a cloud of unknowing over God. I think
that, since God is inaccessible to people, we tend to portray Him in
anthropomorphic terms. We think of the best qualities in every person
and you try and project it on a giant scale on God. So in effect, God is a
man-made concept. We have no clue what God is.[110]
She stated in a separate interview:

I do not understand why God can be all love and still inflict this kind of
pain on people. This God is an underachiever. He does not do whatever
he is supposed to be doing, whatever his sex is. Whether he's an it or a
she or a he or whatever. But I'm sure that if you were a god or if I were
the God, I would be doing a better job. Therefore, the only conclusion
can be that possibly, God does not exist. [84]
In the succeeding years, Defensor Santiago returned to her faith. She was
quoted as saying, "Good things happen to those who love
God."[84] Notwithstanding her defense of the Reproductive Health Law, a law
that has been opposed by the Catholic Church in the Philippines,[111] she
asserted her Catholicism[112] and remained religious as an adult, saying her
prayers day and night.[113] She cited Ecclesiastes as her favorite book in the
Bible and had once considered becoming a nun.[114]