Former Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, 71, succumbed to cancer on Thursday morning, her husband Atty. Jun Santiago said. "She died peacefully in her sleep this morning," Santiago said. The former lawmaker passed away while confined at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City. Her official Twitter account posted a message midmorning that former Sen. Santiago died at 8:52 a.m. - See more at: Former senator Miriam Defensor Santiago dies at age 71
She was tough. Visayan too (from Iloilo). My asawa says she she liked her, but that "she had a big mouth"! Probably a prerequisite for a politician anywhere, but especially in the Philippines. A little personal story, even though Defensor Santiago was not a big player in the 1986 EDSA revolution, just hearing her name, as well as that of any of the Phil vintage politicians like Enrile, Ramos, etc. harken me back to those days. I was attending college on the US GI Bill in Valenzuela, which was technically the northernmost part of Metro Manila, but still considered by oldtimers as the southernmost part of Bulacan province. So we were by no means in the boondocks, and were not oblivious to the unfolding events at EDSA. But in those pre-cellphone, pre-internet, pre-YouTube, etc. days things were pretty quite at my school. I distinctly remember teachers telling us, "If any students need to skip class in order to participate in the revolution, please be advised that you will be expected to make up any assignments or exams that you miss"
