It was heartbreaking to watch Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago during the debates in the weeks leading to the May 2016 elections. Cancer made her seem less herself, when everybody knew what she was like at the prime of her political life.
The senator died at age 71—peacefully, in her sleep—Thursday morning. Even as we knew her passing was inevitable, it came as a shock, nonetheless.
Santiago was master of the law but derived her reputation from her wit and feistiness. She was a fascinating character across the decades and through her various roles in government. Fearing nobody, she spoke her mind and called out anybody who needed calling out.
She waged her crusade against corruption and for the empowerment of women, and even as she occasionally cracked a joke—remember her bestselling book of pickup lines—or let some emotion slip, it was always on the basis of something logical and relevant to the nation’s affairs.
Santiago’s death is made more jarring by the circumstances in which we now find ourselves.
These days, our definition of “strong” and “tough” lies on one’s ability to malign the enemy and threaten to expose all the unsavory aspects of his or her life, whether or not it is relevant to the issue at hand. Conversation has been whittled down to language that is colorful not because of its skillful use but because of its mass appeal.
The outpouring of messages of sympathy from Santiago’s colleagues in government to her family is expected. There will be tributes left and right, but who knows how many of these public servants will genuinely honor her memory by trying to be as real, as diligent, and as respectable as she was?
If there is anything Santiago showed us during her many years in public service, it is that a leader can be tough, passionate and candid while maintaining respectability. For this trait, among many others, she will be sorely missed.
