Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago GCS QSC RMA was a Filipino academic, lawyer, judge, author, and politician.
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Defensor Santiago was named one of The 100 Most Powerful Women in the World in 1997 by The Australian.
Miriam Defensor Santiago Education
Miriam Defensor Santiago completed Iloilo Provincial High School (now Iloilo National High School).
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.
Subsequently, she received a Bachelor of Laws, cum laude, from the University of the Philippines College of Law in Diliman.
Defensor later earned a Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science degree at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
She received a Master of Religious Studies degree (without thesis) at the Maryhill School of Theology in 1995.
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 in 1997.
At Cambridge, she was a research fellow at the Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law.
Miriam Defensor Santiago Biography
Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago GCS QSC RMA was a Filipino jurist, author and politician.
She served in all three branches of the Philippine government.
She was born Miriam Palma Defensor on June 15, 1945, in Iloilo City, Philippines to Benjamin Defensor, a local judge, and Dimpna Palma, a college dean.
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She was the eldest among her siblings: Benjamin, Nenalyn, Linnea, and Paula Dimpna Beatriz.
Mariam taught political science at the Trinity University of Asia. She was a law professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, teaching evening classes for ten years.
Miriam was known for being a long-serving Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, an elected judge of the International Criminal Court, and the sole woman recipient of the Philippines’ highest national honor, the Quezon Service Cross.
She was married to Narciso Santiago until her death in 2016 at St. Luke’s Medical Center.
The pair had two children, Alexander Robert Santiago and Narciso Santiago III, and adopted four children; Megan Santiago, Mallory Santiago, Mackenzie Santiago, and Morven Santiago.
Miriam Defensor Santiago Quotes
The Most Memorable Political Quotes From Miriam Defensor-Santiago include;
- “I may not be a genius, but my opponents are certifiable idiots.”
- “Pinaliwanag ko na, ayaw niyang makinig. Eh, kung hahamunin ko na lang siya ng suntukan?”.
- “In the spirit of Holy Week, which is approaching, I amend my previous offer to fight. Instead, I challenge him to take an IQ test with me in UP!”
- “Tell the truth before the senators affected have you assassinated.”
- “A smart wife is one who makes sure she spends so much that her husband can’t afford another woman.”
- “Dare beyond your strength, hazard beyond your judgment, and in extremities, proceed in excellent hope. Bare the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.
Miriam Defensor Santiago Son Death
Miriam Defensor Santiago son, Alexander Robert Santiago, committed suicide in 2003.
He was interred at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.
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