Asian Nobel Prize

           Miriam Defensor Santiago brought honor to the Philippines, when she was named recipient
          of the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, known as the Magsaysay Award, for government
          service.  She was cited “for bold and moral leadership in cleaning up a corrupt agency,”
          referring to her courageous work as immigration commissioner. Her spectacular  crusade
          against  corruption and criminality catapulted her to the status of cult figure among the Filipino
          youth.

          She was named one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in the World" by The Australian
          magazine in 1997(http://wisdom.psinet.net.au/~lani/100mpw.html).  She is cited as a political
          leader by the book Megatrends Asia.
 

         Academic Excellence

           Sen. Santiago has a record of academic excellence.  She earned the following degrees:
          Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, and Bachelor of Laws, cum laude, from the University of
          the Philippines (U.P.); Master of Laws, and Doctor of the Science of Law, from the University
          of Michigan, where she was a Barbour Scholar and DeWitt Fellow.  She is a candidate for the
          degree, Master of Arts in Religious Studies, at the Maryhill School of Theology.

           She has done specialized studies in over a dozen countries in Asia, Australia, Europe, and
          the United States.  She has studied at, among others, Oxford University, Harvard University,
          University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, and the Academy of Public
          International Law at The Hague, Netherlands.  She holds honorary doctorates from Philippine
          universities.

           Sen. Santiago was class valedictorian and campus editor at all levels.  She won as
          champion of a high school spelling contest, when she was only a freshman student.  Despite
          a three-month bout with illness, she finished her bachelor’s degree at U.P. after only three
          and a half instead of four years, with a near-perfect average grade in the last semester of
          1.1.  She finished her law doctorate after only six months, with an average grade of "A."  She
          finished the academic requirements for her master’s degree in theology, with an average
          grade of 1.25.

           She made history in U.P. when she became the first female editor-in-chief of the venerable
          student newspaper The Philippine Collegian, thus shattering a 50-year-old record of male
          dominance.  She was also the first female to win the Best Debater Award in law school.  She
          held a campus beauty title twice, as U.P. ROTC corps sponsor.  She was twice recipient of
          the Vinzons Achievement Award for excellence in leadership, and of the Rotary Award for
          most outstanding graduate.  She won first place in oratorical and literary contests.
 

         Professional Excellence

           Sen. Santiago’s record of academic excellence is matched by her record of professional
          excellence.  Media has called her the most awarded Filipino public official today.  At a
         relatively young age, she has held ranking positions in all three branches of government —
          executive, legislative, and judicial.  She has been presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court
          at Quezon City; immigration commissioner; and a cabinet member, as agrarian reform
          secretary.  She has also been legal officer of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland; and
          a consultant of the Philippine embassy in Washington D.C.  She was elected senator in 1995.

          She has been a U.P. law professor, and is the author of 25 books, including the authoritative
          casebooks, Constitutional Law; and Public International Law.  She is accredited as an expert
          in international law by United Nations agencies.  She has also been a popular newspaper
          columnist.

           In addition to the Magsaysay Award, Sen. Santiago has been honored with over a hundred
          prestigious awards for excellence in public service.  Her awards include: TOYF (The
          Outstanding Young Filipinos) of the Jaycees; TOWNS (The Outstanding Women in the
          Nation’s Service) of the Lions; Gold Vision Triangle Award of the YMCA; Golden Jubilee
          Achievement Award of the Girl Scouts; and Republic Anniversary Award of the Civic
          Assembly of Women of the Philippines.

           U.P. gave her the Outstanding Law Alumna Award, and the Portia Diamond Award.  She also
          received the Public Service Award from the Metro Manila bishops, as well as the Woman of
          the Year Award from the Catholic Education  Association of the Philippines.  She was
          recipient of the Public Servant of the Year Award from the Council of Evangelical Churches of
          the Philippines.
 

         Presidential Candidate

           Sen. Santiago was dubbed as a political phenomenon, when she  ran for President as an
          independent candidate in the 1992 elections, and lost only by a very slim margin.  She filed an
          election protest on the ground of massive cheating, but unfortunately it was dismissed by the
          Supreme Court on a technicality.  In 1998, she again ran for president, but could not afford
          election watchers to protect her votes.

           Her popularity surged to new heights after sensational media exposes on the pork barrel
          funds known as Congressional Initiative Allocation, or CIA.  Only Sen. Santiago refused to get
          this pork barrel in 1996.

           In 1997, she won the landmark case of Santiago versus Comelec in the Supreme Court.  As
          a result, the court stopped a signature campaign for a people’s initiative, and thus barred a
          controversial move to amend the Constitution and lift term limits.
 

         Miriam Magic

            For her moral courage in fighting the culture of corruption, she has been acclaimed not only
           by the local, but also by the foreign press worldwide.  When she was a college student, one
          magazine already dubbed her “super girl at the state university.”  Her face has graced dozens
            of magazine covers, and she has been called the incorruptible lady, the platinum lady, the
              tiger lady, the dragon lady, the iron lady of Asia, the queen of popularity polls, and the
            undisputed campus heroine.  But to her millions of fans, she is best known for the unique
                  brand of charismatic leadership that media likes to call — “Miriam Magic.”

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