Miriam in the eyes of her little ones
It has been a year since Miriam Defensor-Santiago died. To her supporters, she was “the greatest president this country never had.” She was a strong woman, hence her death is still unbelievable, even to her relatives.
Photo by Carla Molina/THE FOURTH
Her niece, Carolina Defensor-Santiago, said “To this day I still can’t believe my aunt is gone. I thought she could do anything, including beating death as she had beaten death several time[s] before,” at Loyola Memorial Park on Friday.
The late senator may be the Iron Lady of Asia, but for her nieces and nephews, she was just an ordinary smart aunt. To Carolina, Miriam was the kind of aunt that will help in any way possible. She said, “My auntie Miriam helped raise me while my mother was in medical school.” Her nephew, Carlo Alfonso Defensor Evangelista, considered her as his second mother.
Carolina also shared her experience working with her late aunt. She worked as an intern in the senate in 1998 and she said that she needed to work hard to attain the level of excellence her aunt expected from all of her staff. “Even though I was the senator’s niece, I was never to get special treatment,” she said.
The tough senator was still a very loving aunt that she is remembered by her niece as someone who is always smiling and very affectionate with them in giving hugs and kisses. The late senator is also like a mother to her siblings, Dr. Len Santiago-Evangelista shared.
Carlo said that even after he rejected going to law school in order to pursue his music career, her aunt never stopped supporting him and even urged him to keep an open-mind in the choices he will make.
The late senator, according to her nephew, was a good conversant. He shared that whenever they would talk, the “long conversations with her would often involve delve into deep, macro–cosmic issues, the law, the nature of public service and working for the benefit of the poor, unjustly treated and disenfranchised.”
Even though she was someone as strong as a rock, just like any other human being, she has her own weak side. Miriam's walls broke down when her son, AR, died. “I’d like to think that she is reunited with her beloved AR and taking care of my daughter, Fia, like she did for me,” she said.
Carolina shared something that she read on social media that can be relatable to those who still support Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s legacy. “I read a post on Facebook that said, ‘Someday, I’ll tell my kids about a brave and wise queen who never had a chance to rule her kingdom,’ but I don’t think that is necessarily true. She was your president because [you] believed in her and [you] exposed her ideals and carried on her legacy,” she said.
