Duterte to confer Quezon Service Cross on late Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago

President Duterte is set to confer today on the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago in Malacañang the Quezon Service Cross, the highest national recognition of outstanding civilian service in the country, a year after he nominated Santiago for the said award.

The nomination came a year after senators Grace Poe and Sonny Angara filed separate resolutions urging President Duterte to confer the Quezon Service Cross to the late lawmaker days before her first death anniversary on September 29 last year.

Malacañang earlier said that it was willing

to posthumously confer the said award to the late Senator, and that President Duterte would surely nominate Santiago for the said recognition.

"The late Senator's contribution to the country is beyond question. The President highly respects the lady," the Palace earlier said.

Poe and Angara cited in their resolutions that Santiago "dedicated her life to public service through her work in all the branches of government: Judicial, executive, and legislative."

"As a Senator for three terms, Santiago consistently filed the highest number of bills and resolutions," Poe's resolution read.

"Throughout the nearly five decades she served the public, Miriam Defensor Santiago exemplified academic, professional, and moral excellence – values that she herself demanded not just from fellow public servants, but also fellow Filipinos," Angara said in his resolution.

Santiago, who succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 71 on September 29, 2016, was known for her fearlessness and sense of humor which made her popular among the youth.

The late Senator was also presiding judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, immigration commissioner, agrarian reform secretary, and senator from 1995 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2016.

Santiago also authored numerous laws including The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act, The Data Privacy Act, The Cybercrime Prevention Act, The AntiTorture Act, and The Magna Carta for Women.

President Duterte expressed hope that Santiago's legacy would continue to guide the Philippines.

"She is best remembered as a graft buster, 'eating death threats for breakfast,' earning her the Iron Lady of Asia. A constitutionalist, she has always been an advocate for the rule of law," Duterte said.

Duterte was known to have had amiable interactions with Santiago during the 2016 presidential campaign even if they stood as opponents for the highest seat in government.

Months after Santiago's death, Duterte appointed Narciso Santiago, the late Senator's husband, as Presidential Adviser for Revenue Enhancement with the rank of undersecretary. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)