Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the Philippine senator and former presidential candidate known as the "Iron Lady of Asia," died on Thursday morning. She was aged 71 years.
Mrs. Santiago was suffering from lung cancer but her husband has said that she had a peaceful death in her sleep in a hospital in Manila.
She is survived by her son, Narciso Santiago III and her husband. It is worth mentioning that Alexander Robert, her younger son had died in the year 2003.
In the month of May, Mrs. Santiago ran for the country's presidency, in spite of suffering from lung cancer from 2014. Her ill health affected her election campaigns but she was confident that she was fit to hold office. However, she lost the position to Rodrigo Duterte. Notably, in the years, 1992 and 1998, she had also sought for the presidency, BBC News reported.
Mrs. Santiago had made a mark in the minds of the people for her strong stand on pressing issues concerning foreign affairs and corruption. Having served as a judge during the Philippines' martial law years, she joined President Corazon Aquino's government in 1988 as an immigration commissioner. For that, she received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1988, citing her "bold and moral leadership in cleaning up a graft-ridden government agency."
A feisty senator with a strong-willed stance on issues, Mrs. Santiago became known as the "Iron Lady of Asia." Her fame for her wittiness and quick tongue ran throughout her service in all the country's three branches of government.
Following her loss last elections, she has been described as the "best President" that the Philippines could have but never got.
It is surely mourning time for the people of Philippines as it has lost a great Filipino fit to be a role model for people and a great public servant who served the people without thinking about her ill health.
Social media is also abuzz with obituaries for the gem of a lady that Miriam Defensor-Santiago was.
May her soul rest in peace.
