Miriam awarded Quezon Medal
OVERDUE, but nevertheless as a friend of Miriam Defensor Santiago—gone from this world too soon—I thank the Senate for conferring on her the Quezon Medal for distinguished and unblemished service to this country. She is indeed worthy of the honor.
Now I see that Miriam was not long for this world, perhaps from the very beginning long before cancer touched her. She was not so much too idealistic as too intelligent, too quick to catch the hypocritical follies that Filipino politicians, our traditional and unchanging never feared or faltered to show them for what they were, maybe I should say are, because they are an enduring breed. And she did not endure.
Miriam was extraordinary and ambitious. No false modesty from her, she assessed herself in superlative terms and she proved it. She went through high school, university and law school doing what she thought she was meant to do. Perennial honor student, the Muse of the Cadet Corps of UP as she decided she deserved to be, law school where she became the - gian and absorbed what the law was for and how it should be meted out, as well as follow in her judge father’s footsteps. No, she did not top the bar or make the top 10 because she was caught in an emotional struggle with her father for whatever reason, all this tension taking place during the crucial last year of bar exams. Did the mediocre grade she got dent her on to the Department of Justice, to graduate school, to working with the United Nations in Geneva and then here. She distinguished herself by courageous and correct decisions in a time of dictatorship when even the Supreme Court of luminaries blinked. Then she started a column in the
her name and read what she had to say. It was interesting and surprisingly personal. Miriam was open about what she was and what she thought.
Eventually, she was plucked from the judiciary and into the executive by taking on the Bureau of Immigration, friendly agency of government with a record of bad service to boot. Like Wonder Woman she swept through that agency ferreting out the rotten, putting in new and transparent procedures as well as instilling the fear of Miriam and God into the employees. Naturally, there was pushback, kingdoms of darkness fought back and she was accused of all kinds of misdemeanors and worse. Death threats were also used, but she went about saying she ate them for breakfast. She managed to partner with her counterparts in other countries to obstruct the lawless elements making a mockery of our immigration laws. When she put in an express lane for aliens to go through as one of her reforms, the recalcitrants in the agency sabotaged it. When one alien told her it was no express lane at all, she immediately went through the line in a fury, doing all the stamping of papers at each station herself, to the shock of those supposed to be manning them. It was of Miriam in them and the express lane lived up to its name.
When she was appointed to the Department of Agrarian Reform and had to go through the Commission on Appointments, the immigration kingdom of darkness agents came out of the woodwork to accuse of her of everything they could think of. I attended the hearings and there the brickbats came flying at her. One elderly woman with a sheaf of papers appeared, preposterously accusing her of all kinds of illegalities using doctored documents. Upon further questioning, she turned out to be the immigration receiving clerk who had to be bribed to get papers on line for processing. Or, have them linger in limbo until she was paid. Naturally, Miriam put her somewhere else. Those hearings were Philippine Politics 101, or shall we say Philippine Congress 101 for me – transactional, vindictive, men
By that time, she had a following among the youth, among citizens longing for better. Enough to start and dare to run for President, no less. She gave the and the myriad opponents in that presidential race of 1992 and their well-funded campaigns a run for their money. I will not forget the crowds, the fervor, the rallies and the end of the days of that campaign. Miriam would be on radio, television, at rallies, at breakfasts, lunches and dinners with local politicians and supporters. After dinner which would always be early, she retired to her room wherever we were, with a book, not to be disturbed.
She had a terrible temper and a vocabulary to match that curiously had no expletives but very colorful putdowns. When she lit on someone, everyone took cover. She was also abrupt and brusque when riled. A supporter brought her to a private dinner in a room of would-be supporters. When they started making demands for the funds they would donate to her campaign, she abruptly rose from the table and walked out to the chagrin of the host. In all these, her sense of humor would rise up unexpectedly and she would express it graphically and uproariously.
She never gave up running for president, managed to make it into the Senate eventually for several terms and there did serious work, legislation that is on our law books covering everything from women to human rights, education, reproductive health, a whole gamut of subjects. Even when ill or on leave, her mind kept churning out bills. She always said it like it was. interests, she made it clear what the issues were and who was on the wrong side of them.
Soon she was utterly disillusioned by the state of government, particularly the legislative branch, with their huge allowances, hypocritical moves and doubletalk as well as weak work ethic. That led her to seek an exit for the International Criminal Court but it was not meant to be as illness felled her.
She took stands that were heroic if many times unpopular. A few times I disagreed with her vehemently; thank God she never lost her temper with me and never withdrew her friendship. Until the general public, not just her supporters, got used to her, she was controversial, too much of a deviant for the Filipino idea of an agreeable person. But in time she became a familiar and accepted - claimed and loved. People appreciated her comments and her work in the midst of the political mayhem. She made them laugh, agree, and wait for her next comment.
Miriam deserved better from this country. She gave it her all but many of her peers would not credit her for it. But she remained what she wanted to be with neither self-pity nor vindictiveness, so confident of herself she was. Would that she were still with us for a clearer, more are and where we should go.