No More Death Threats for Breakfast
by allancarreon on Sep.29, 2016, under Society
I’ve always been 50/50 about Miriam Defensor Santiago’s politics. She made some great laws and is undeniably highly intelligent, but she has had questionable allegiances (a real political butterfly) and had behaved despicably during EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres. Most disappointingly, she also got into bed with the Marcoses in the last leg of her political life, significantly marring her anti-corruption rhetoric.
That being said, as a senator doing her actual legislative work, she had a solid track record that is unquestionable. The RH Law, for one thing. She also held her own against her nemesis in the senate, that old vermin of a senator who inexpicably is still alive despite claiming illness (but was suddenly well enough to go to work once he was let out of jail).
Moreover, as a lawyer and judge, she was elected to be a judge of the International Criminal Court. She was the first Filipino and first Asian from a developing country to have been given such a prestigious appointment.
No, Miriam was not incorruptible, as her political associations and movements have proven time and again. Still, even though I may not respect Miriam as a politician, I respect her work and output as a senator and as a judge.
That, and at least she made the circus of the modern Philippine Senate extra-entertaining with her feistiness, acid tongue, and sense of humor.
Rest in peace, Madam. No more death threats for breakfast.