She earned the degree, Doctor of Juridical Science, in the United States. Dr.

Miriam Defensor

Santiago is a globally famous personality, because of her legal brilliance and courageous

example in fighting corruption. In a nation where many public officials are charged with, or

suspected, of plunder, her honesty shines like a light in the darkness.

She has brought honor to the Philippines in several ways. She is the first Filipino and the first

Asian from a developing country, to be elected in the United Nations as judge of the

International Criminal Court. The ICC hears cases against heads of state. Thus, she put the

Philippines on the global map in the 21st century. Unfortunately, grave illness forced her to

waive the privilege of being an ICC judge.

For two years, she suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome. In June 2014 she was diagnosed

with lung cancer, stage 4 (the last stage). But with her signature humor and bravery, she

fought back, and her cancer has regressed. Even cancer cells are afraid of her!

She was chosen as laureate of the Magsaysay Award for Government Service, known as the

Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize. She was cited “for bold and moral leadership in cleaning

up a graft-ridden government agency.” She was named one of “The 100 Most Powerful

Women in the World” by The Australian magazine.

Dr. Santiago is one of the most intellectually brilliant leaders that our country has

ever seen. She earned the degrees Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude; and

Bachelor of Laws, cum laude, from the University of the Philippines. She went

abroad and earned the graduate degrees of Master of Laws, and Doctor of

Juridical Science, from the University of Michigan, one of the top three law schools

in the United States. She finished the academic requirements for the degree Master

of Arts in Religious Studies, at the Maryhill School of Theology.

JUDICIARY;ATTY. CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES.

BACKDROUND

Conchita "Chit" Claudio Carpio was born on June 19, 1941, in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, to Lucas

D. Carpio, a Justice of the Peace (now equivalent to a trial court judge),[6] and Maria Claudio

Carpio.[4] Her father was a member of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, while her mother
was Catholic. She was baptized as a Catholic.[6]

When she was younger, she played marbles, climbed the Paoay Tower, and

memorized Shakespeare's passages on the urging of her father. She said that she wanted to

be a princess and perform in front of people, especially during fiestas. She also had dreams

of being an opera singer.[4] She says she did not consciously plan to be a lawyer, but grew up

surrounded by law books and the Official Gazette. According to her, "Perhaps subconsciously,

I found the law profession exciting."[6]

She attended Paoay Elementary School and spent her high school years at the Paoay North

Institute. She achieved the honour as elementary and high school valedictorian.[3] She was

the only one among her six siblings who did not study in a Catholic school.[6]

Active in extra-curricular activities, the young Chit played volleyball, the piano, and even did

ballroom dancing by the time she reached college.[7]

She then earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at the University of the Philippines

(UP), Diliman, in 1964. [8] [9] In 1968, she earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of

the Philippines College of Law in Diliman.[8] She passed the bar in 1969.[9]

When Carpio Morales assumed office in 2011, she inherited a caseload of 11,000

pending criminal and administrative cases.

Under the leadership of Carpio Morales, she professionalized and upgraded OMB's

capabilities; revolutionized its anti-corruption program to include the designation of

deputy ombudsmen for environmental concerns and for investment-related problems;

and improved its responsiveness to calls for public assistance. She has also set a

target of zero backlog in the investigation or adjudication of cases and disposition of

all requests for assistance, and she expects to hit the target by 2018. The

independence and quality of OMB's fact-finding investigations, evidence build-up,

prosecution strategies and case management have also been improved. As a result,

the conviction rate of cases handled by OMB before the Sandiganbayan from 2011 to

2015 rose from 33.3 percent to 74.5 percent.

She has prioritized the filing of cases against high-ranking officials, and has imposed

strict administrative sanctions on high officials, including filing cases against a former

president; a former vice-president; incumbent senators, congressmen, and governors.

She is the first Ombudsman to use the waiver in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities
and Net Worth (required of government officials and employees) as a basis to secure

bank records in impeaching one of the country's highest officials