BLAH BLAH BLOGS: To Love & Hate Miriam

It has been a long time since I had my personal commentary again on politics, and the reason I came back here is to talk about the colorful life of the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago who just passed today. It was a sad day for Filipinos who had seen the spectrum of emotions and life events of the extraordinary senator Miriam Defensor Santiago.

Not so long ago, we still saw her as she went on the last biggest fight she had as one of the five presidentiables along side Binay, Poe, Duterte and Roxas. Despite having a lot of love and support Miriam lost, which added to her bid of the presidency which she ran in 1992, 1998, and this year. She was the underdog, no huge campaign money, machinery, and the likes. However, she did have a lot of volunteers and fans. These were the people who tirelessly campaigned for her in many ways and most of them in social media. She was a social media star not only of her political views and stands but also grounded with the wit and charisma of engaging the youth and young professionals.

She did triumph in many positions though, she was elected as a commissioner for the prestigious International Development Law Organization (IDLO), she authored over a thousand laws in the Senate, she rose to the limelight as Immigration Commissioner and Agrarian Reform. This is just some of the highlights of her career as a lawmaker and as a justice expert.

But it was not all love and success for MDS as she also faced a lot of challenges and tragedies along the way. Initially on her first bid as president, she was branded to be "Brenda" (Brain Damage) because of her feisty personality which painted her "insane" image. Then she also disliked  during the first presidential impeachment trial as one of the Eleven Senators who voted against the opening of the controversial second envelop which triggered EDSA dos. And after a few months after the ouster, she was seen on failed EDSA tres. This period was also the time she promised to jump off an airplane without a parachute, which she later retracted with her infamous "I lied" statement.

Tragedy also struck the senator with the death of his son Alexander who committed suicide in 2003. This  showed her as a helpless mother who just lost her son, a large contrast from the brave woman who "eats death threats for breakfast". This was a heartbreaking scene and changed the views of many about her.

the girl on fire of the senate

Miriam is indeed known about her knowledge and expertise on national and international law. She does know how to work and build unlikely allegiances and unpopular political positions like the RH law, a "no vote" for the ouster of Chief Justice Renato Corona, and being an ally of President Estrada, and President Arroyo, with this she was labeled as a political butterfly.
But despite all this she finally redeemed her image slowly as she focused more on her work and became more engaged with the youth. With the youth engaging in social media, technology and trends, Miriam found herself in a new career not in legalities but witty lines and hugot statements. It was effective and she eventually became a darling of the internet world.
One of my earliest memories was actually when my mother brought me at the 1992 polls, and she was a fan of Miriam, even up to now which did influence us to see her in a different light despite the controversies. My first time during a senate session was also highlighted with a privilege speech from her, and yes she was angry but very interesting in terms of delivery.  After that session we were able to do a short interview with her, and I consider that my interview of a lifetime.

one last glance of MDS

She now mixes her hard-hitting statements with some cultural references on the side, made the Senate appealing to the public without removing the technicalities and prestige of the Senate. It was actually her best move so far however it was quite too late for her career which was marked with seriousness and threatening appeal.

But one the greatest fears of her followers is when she announced shed had Lung Cancer, though still in office the Big C is no simple matter. Despite the illness she still functions as a senator with occasional sick leaves for treatment for her cancer. This is also probably the biggest hindrance in her presidential campaign which barred her from fully utilizing the campaign period as well as missing at one session of the national debates.

It was not a bitter loss at the polls for MDS, as she gracefully made a mark in the eyes of the nation. Favored by President Duterte even during the campaigns, best selling books for Stupid is Forever and Stupid is Forevermore, and still a darling of the internet word of her lines popular to the millennials.
As we were saddened with the passing of MDS, it was a sad day for politics. Even if I did not vote for her, I still see her a very capable leader with great influence, a standard of excellence, and a caring fun grandmother. We hate her because of her past decisions, but we eventually loved her more with her humanity. Godspeed to you dear Senator and your legacy now continues with us, your ever supportive youth.