Senators Miriam Santiago INQUIRER PHOTO / LEO M. SABANGAN II.
HANOI – Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano called the passing of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago her “final walkout” to the next world as he mourned her death.
Cayetano, who flew to Vietnam as part of President Duterte’s official delegation, said the Philippines lost a national treasure with her demise.
“We lost a national treasure, not only the Senate, the country will not be the same without her,” he told reporters in a press briefing on Thursday afternoon.
READ: Miriam Defensor-Santiago passes away at 71
He described her death as “her final walkout,” in apparent reference to her habit of leaving the room to express displeasure.
“There’s no perfect administration, so you’ll always need someone like her. This may be her final walk out as she walks out of this world to the next world,” Cayetano said.
He added: “But like any other walkout she engaged in, it was always productive, it was always lasting, and it always sent us a message.”
Cayetano added that the country will never forget the lessons it learned from Santiago during her career as a public servant. JE/rga