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August 2014

Global Fame

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
21
st 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
IOO
Most Powerful
Women in the World” by The Australian magazine.

Academic Excellence

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.

In U.P., the perfect grade is I.O. In her last
undergraduate semester, Dr. Santiago earned the
near-perfect average grade of 1.1. And she finished her
4-year course in only 3-1/2 years. At the University of
Michigan, she was a Barbour Scholar and DeWitt Fellow.
She finished her master s degree in only one year, and
her doctorate in only six months.

Our guest speaker loves learning. She has done
postdoctoral studies all over the world, including Oxford
University, Cambridge University, Harvard University,
University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University,
and Academy of Public International Law at the Peace

Appendix

Palace (the seat of the International Court of Justice), at
The Hague, Netherlands.

Dr. Santiago was class valedictorian at all levels —
elementary, high school, and college. She made history
in U.P. when she became the first female editor-in-chief
of the famous student newspaper, Philippine Collegian,
thus shattering a 50-year old record of male dominance.
She won as Best Debater in the annual U.P. law debate,
where she was captain of the winning team. It is interesting
that at the same time she held a campus beauty title, not
once but twice — as ROTC corps sponsor.

Professional Excellence

Dr. Santiago holds an amazing record of excellence in
all three branches of government — judicial, executive,
and legislative. In the judicial branch, she has been
presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court at Quezon
City. In the executive branch, she has been immigration
commissioner; and a cabinet member, as agrarian reform
secretary. In the legislative branch, she has now been a
senator for three terms.

Dr. Santiago worked abroad. She served as legal
officer of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
She also served as a consultant of the Philippine embassy
in Washington, D.C.

In all three branches of government, she has been
showered with awards for being outstanding, making
her the most awarded public official in our country

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today. For example, she has received awards such as The
Outstanding Young Men, or TOYM; The Outstanding
Women in the Nation’s Service, or TOWNS; and Most
Outstanding Alumna in Law from U.P.

Dr. Santiago was a U.P. law professor for some
IO
years, teaching evening class after office hours. She has
written some 30 books, many of which are very scholarly
textbooks in law and the social sciences, well advanced
of our time. During her initial battle with cancer, she
continued to work on the 2014 edition of all her lawbooks.
She is considered the leading expert of her generation in
constitutional law and in international law.

In the Philippine Senate where Dr. Santiago is on
her third term, she has filed the highest number of bills,
and authored some of the most important laws. Some of
her most important pending bills are: anti-dynasty bill;
an act institutionalizing an age-appropriate curriculum
to prevent the abduction, exploitation, and sexual abuse
of children; anti-epal bill; freedom of information bill;
and magna carta for Philippine internet freedom. She
has been fearless in exposing and naming notorious
criminal suspects in legislative investigations, particularly
in naming jueteng lords and illegal logging lords.

Unquestioned Honesty

It was Senator Santiago who in effect started the national
plunder investigation (which is now a historic scandal).
In December
2012
she revealed that the senate president
had used Senate funds to give away cash gifts. Every
senator received P2 million as a Christmas gift, taken
from public funds, except Senator Santiago and two
others. That scandal led to the notorious pork barrel
scandal, for which the senate president is now suspended
and in jail, having been charged with plunder by the
Ombudsman.

COA records show that her "pork barrel,” also known
as PDAF, was never marred by any kickback, unlike those
of her colleagues in Congress. In three separate cases,
the Supreme Court had upheld the pork barrel system
as constitutional. Sen. Santiago gave her PDAF to: the
University of the Philippines system; Philippine General
Hospital; and local government units. She never released
her pork barrel to any NGO, particularly those headed by
those guilty of plunder, which means wholesale stealing
of public money by accepting kickbacks, or simply
pocketing the entire money.

After the impeachment of the Chief Justice in 2012,
it was later revealed that Miriam was one of only three
senators who refused to receive the DAP, amounting to
P50 million for every senator and
PlO
million for every
congressman. It was also later revealed that three senators
even received
PlOO
million each, after the impeachment.

When she was a student in U.P. law school, one
magazine dubbed her "Supergirl at the State University.”
She is probably the public official whose face has graced
the highest number of magazine covers. She has been
featured by famous international publications, including
Time, the New York Times, and the Herald-Tribune.

In 1992, the foreign press reported that she had been
elected as President of the Philippines after a nationwide
election. However, she was cheated. As the Filipinos say:
"Miriam won in the voting, but lost in the counting. ”

She is a renowned celebrity. Like a rock star, she
attracts crowds everywhere. She is the most sought-after
guest speaker of university students. Sen. Santiago is a
woman of destiny. She will be remembered in Philippine
history as a genuine hero of her people.

She has been called the incorruptible lady, the
platinum lady, the tiger lady, the dragon lady, the iron
lady of Asia, the queen of popularity polls, and the
undisputed campus hero. But to her millions of fans,
she is best known for the unique brand of charismatic
leadership that media likes to call "Miriam Magic.”

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