Miriam Defensor-Santiago has a long list of accolades behind her. A fierce lawyer and a fiercer public servant, she unfortunately passed away in 2016, but her works are very fondly remembered. In remembrance of her inimitable fire, Republic Act 11963, a Bill thusly titled an “Act Renaming the Agham Road and the BIR Road… as Senator Miriam P. Defensor-Santiago Avenue” was filed and has since lapsed into law. This will see the renaming of Agham Road and BIR Road in Quezon City in memory of the late Senator.
Photo: Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Facebook
Three senators authored the Bill filed on February 15, and its purpose was to honor the work of Senator Miriam in the many years of her tenure as a lawyer and as a public servant. On October 12, 2023, the Bill lapsed into law and thus, the two roads in Quezon City – Agham Road and BIR Road – will now be renamed after the late Senator.
Specifically, the Bill-now-law reads “An Act renaming the Agham Road and the BIR Road, stretching from North Avenue, traversing through Quezon Avenue up to East Avenue, all located in Quezon City, as Senator Miriam P. Defensor-Santiago Avenue.”
Two different roads intersecting a major thoroughfare are normally named differently in the Philippines, but in this instance, the entire stretch as indicated will bear one name, and that is Senator Miriam’s.
On the Bill’s passing into law, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said, “She has a feisty appearance on TV and she was a very feisty woman, a firebrand of leadership and performance, but in the halls of Congress… she was like a mother to all of us. This honor is a small token of what she should be honored throughout the Philippines. She should be given all the accolades and honors. She was an excellent legislator and an excellent senator.”
Photo: Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Facebook
An advocate of global justice, Senator Miriam was the first Asian judge elected to the International Criminal Court. She was also the first Filipino elected as commissioner for the International Development Organization. Serving as a Legal Officer at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland is also included in her many (more) accolades.
Her presence and ferocity against corruption and in upholding the law have earned her many nicknames, the most memorable of which are the Dragon Lady and the Iron Lady of Asia.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago battled with lung cancer and sadly passed away in September 2016 at the age of 71.
