Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago


Senate Office:
Rm. 521-A GSIS Bldg., Financial Center, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
Trunk Lines: (632) 552-6601 to 70 loc. 5561
Direct Lines: (632) 552-6693
Telefax No.: (632) 552-6692
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Website: www.miriam.com.ph


Biography | Curriculum Vitae | Agenda

MIRIAM DEFENSOR SANTIAGO
Curriculum Vitae
August 2014

PERSONAL DATA

Born 1945 in the Philippines
Father was presiding judge (RTC) and mother was college dean
Married to Narciso Y. Santiago, Jr., Filipino
Two adult sons, one dead
Office: Defensor Santiago Law Firm
          4/F Narsan Blg. 3 West Fourth St.,
          West Triangle Quezon City, Philippines
Office email: [email protected]
Website: www.miriam.com.ph
Phone: (632) 371-9156
           (632) 372-4573
           (632) 411-4380
Fax:     (632) 376-5936

WORK EXPERIENCE

In December 2011, she was elected by States Parties to Rome Statute as judge of the International Criminal Court for nine-year term. First Filipino and first Southeast Asian from a developing state to be thus elected.

But she waived the ICC privilege, after she was diagnosed with lung cancer, stage 4 (last stage). After six weeks on new medication, doctors found her cancer has regressed. She returned to work in the Philippine Senate.

Senator, Republic of the Philippines 1995 - 2016

• Chair, Committee on Foreign Relations
• Chair, Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes
• Chair, Joint Congressional Oversight Committee
   on Automated Election System
• Chair, Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the
   Overseas Absentee Voting Act
• Chair, Commission on Appointments, Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Chair, Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement
• Chair, Committee on Economic Affairs
• Chair, Special Oversight Committee on Economic Affairs

 
Senior Partner, Defensor Santiago Law Firm 1992 – Present
Opinion Columnist, “Gadfly,” Today newspaper 1994
Presidential runner-up (Ranked close No. 2 in scandalous
       canvassing), 1992 Philippine presidential elections 

1992
President and founder, People’s Reform Party 1991 – Present
Chair and founder, Movement for Responsible Public Service 1990 – Present
Secretary of Agrarian Reform
     
• Chair, Presidential Agrarian Reform Council Executive Committee

1989
Commissioner of Immigration and Deportation 
Member, Board of Directors:
1988 – 1989 

• Public Estates Authority
• Philippine Retirement Authority
• Ninoy Aquino International Airport Authority
• Land Bank of the Philippines

1988 – 1989
1988 – 1989
1988 – 1989
1989
Opinion Columnist, “Overview,” Philippine Panorama Sunday magazine 1985 – 1988
Professorial Lecturer, College of Law, University of
      the Philippines
(evening class)

1976 – 1988
Presiding Judge, Regional Trial Court, Branch 106, Quezon City  1983 – 1987
Legal Consultant, University of the Philippines Law Center 1981 – 1983
Legal Consultant, Philippine Embassy, Washington, D.C. 1982
Legal Officer, United Nations High Commissioner for
      Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland

1979 – 1980
Special Assistant to the Secretary of Justice 1970 – 1980
Member, Board of Censors for Motion Pictures 1977 – 1979
Opinion Columnist, Philippines Daily Express newspaper 1972 – 1975
Professor of Political Science, Trinity University of Asia 1971 – 1974

EDUCATION:

Doctor of Juridical Science (Barbour Scholar and DeWitt Fellow),
      University of Michigan. Requirements (except publication),
      fulfilled in six months, with “A” average.


1976
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Centro Escolar University 1989
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Xavier University, Ateneo de Cagayan de Oro  1989
Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, University of San Agustin 1989
Master of Laws (DeWitt Fellow), University of Michigan, with “A” average 1975
Master of Arts in Religious Studies (without thesis),
       Maryhill School of Theology, Quezon City
1996
Bachelor of Laws, cum laude, University of the Philippines 1969
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude,
       University of the Philippines.  Finished in 3-1/2 instead of 4 years,
       with an average grade in the last semester of 1.1.


1965
Member, Pi Gamma Mu and Phi Kappa Phi international honor societies  1969
Valedictorian, Iloilo Provincial National High School. Awardee,
      All-Around Girl Medallion.

1961
Valedictorian, La Paz Elementary School  1957

POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES:

Visiting Law Fellow, St. Hilda’s College, Oxford University 2000
Visiting Fellow, Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law,
      Cambridge University

1999
Paris-Geneva Summer Program in International Law, sponsored
      by American University

1998
Summer Program in Law at Oxford University, sponsored by
Florida State University
 
1997
Summer Program of Instruction for Lawyers, Harvard University 1996
Graduate, California Judicial College, University of California at Berkeley.
      In the practical courtroom test, American judges gave her the
      highest grade of 33 out of 35.


1985
Fellow, Seminar on judicial writing and caseflow management in the
      trial courts, Institute of Judicial Administration, Supreme Court.
      Topnotcher of examination in judicial writing


1984
Fellow, UN/UNITAR Programme in International Law, The Hague,
      Holland and Brussels, Belgium

1978
Fellow, External Session of The Hague Academy of International Law,
      Tokyo, Japan

1978
Fellow, Academy of American and International Law, Southwestern
      Legal Foundation, Dallas, Texas

1972

CONFERENCES

Official delegate in numerous state visits by Pres. Arroyo 2007-2009
Speaker, Panel on the Status of Ratification and Implementation
     of the Rome Statute in Asian countries, Asia- Pacific Parliamentary
     Consultation on the Universality of the Rome Statute of the International
     Criminal Court (ICC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia



2011
Head of Delegation, 6th International Conference of Tibet
      Support Groups, Haryana, Dharamsala, India

2010
Speaker, Panel on Gender Justice and Human Rights, 32nd Annual Forum
      Empowering Women – Building Human Security, Istanbul, Turkey

2010
Delegate, 5th World Parliamentarian’s Convention on Tibet, Rome, Italy  2009
Delegate, World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland 2008
Head of Delegation, 13th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific
      Parliamentary Forum, Ha Long City, S.R. Viet Nam 

2005
Delegate, Third Session of the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians
      for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Rule of Law,
      Wellington, New Zealand


2004
Fellow, Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China 2002
Keynote Speaker, Island Conference on Public Administration, University of Guam 1992
Fellow, Williamsburg Conference, Chiangmai, Thailand 1990
Fellow, International Visitor Program, Washington, DC and Los Angeles  1989
Fellow, Special Visits Program, Sydney and Canberra, Australia  1988
Chairperson, 13th Roundtable on Current Problems of International
      Humanitarian Law, San Remo, Italy

1988
Philippine Delegate, Interpol General Assembly Session, Nice, France  1987
Secretary-General, ASEAN Women Judges Conference, Manila 1987
Fellow, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California 1985
Philippine Delegate, First International Seminar-Workshop on Managing
       Delay in the Courts, Manila

1983
Chairperson, Second Philippine Goodwill Mission to the Republic of China 1968
Philippine Delegate, First Southeast Asian and Australasian Law
      Students’ Seminar, Singapore
 
1967

BOOKS:
(Cited as authority in Philippine Supreme Court cases)

Law 2014 ed.
Constitutional Law, Volume 1 – Political Structure
Constitutional Law, Volume 2 – Bill of Rights
International Law, With Philippine Cases and Materials and ASEAN Instruments
International Law (co-author)
Rules of Court Annotated
Civil Code Annotated
Penal Code Annotated
Constitution Annotated
Corporation Code Annotated
Election Code Annotated
Insurance Code Annotated
Local Government Code Annotated
National Internal Revenue Code Annotated
Tariff and Customs Code Annotated

Philosophy 2003 ed.
History of Philosophy, The Great Philosophers
Political Philosophy, Theory and Issues in Politics
Philosophy of Religion, Western and Eastern Religions
Moral Philosophy, Theory and Issues in Ethics (in progress)

Politics
International Relations 2d. ed.
Politics and Governance
Christianity vs. Corruption
At the Turn of the Century: National Policy Issues in the Philippines
Cutting Edge: The Politics of Reform in the Philippines
Where Angels Fear to Tread: Politics and Religion
How to Fight Election Fraud
How to Fight Graft

Literature
Inventing Myself: an Autobiography
A Frabjous Day and Other Stories
The Miriam Dictionary

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

Google Top 20 Most Influential Filipinas of 2010
Womanity Award for public service 2010, on website Female Network
“Order of Civil Merit,” Kingdom of Spain, 2008
“The 100 Most Powerful Women in the World,” The Australian magazine, 1996 http://wisdom.psinet.au/~kabu/100mpw.html
Magsaysay Award for Government Service, 1988.
      Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, Magsaysay Awards Foundation.
TOYM Award for Law, 1985 (The Outstanding Young Men)
      Opened to Women 1984, Philippine Jaycees
TOWNS Award for Law, 1986 (The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service)
      Philippine Lions
Most Outstanding Alumna in Law, University of the Philippines, 1988
Gold Vision Triangle Award for government service, 1988
      YMCA Philippines
Republic Anniversary Award for law enforcement, 1988
      Civic Assembly of Women of the Philippines
Golden Jubilee Achievement Award for public service, 1990
      Girl Scouts of the Philippines
Celebrity Mother Award, 1991
      Gintong Ina Awards Foundation

back to top

16th Congress Senators