Miriam Santiago remembered as fighter for genuine independence

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) remembered the late former Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago as a staunch fighter for national independence.

Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes praised Santiago, who passed away on Thursday morning, for being a “fierce critic of US intervention and violations of our sovereignty.”

“We offer our condolences to the family and friends of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago who was a fierce critic of US intervention and violations of our sovereignty. It was under her leadership of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that a resolution for the termination of the VFA was passed by the plenary,” Reyes said in a statement.

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“She also led several inquiries into the EDCA and the murder of Jennifer Laude…Her sponsorship speech of the resolution calling for the termination of the VFA is a shining moment in the continuing fight for genuine independence. She will be greatly missed,” he added.

Reyes said Santiago was the “most consistent Senator when it came to asserting national sovereignty against US intervention.”

Santiago passed away in her sleep Thursday morning after battling lung cancer. She was 71. IDL/rga

READ: Miriam Defensor-Santiago passes away at 71