Miriam should have been lauded when she was alive, says husband

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago and her husband, lawyer Narciso Santiago Jr., at their 40th wedding anniversary at the Manila Cathedral in June 2011 (INQUIRER PHOTO)

The outpouring of recognition and love for Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago should have been done while she was still alive, her husband said on Friday.

Narciso Santiago turned sentimental when he was approached by the media on his way to the venue of the late senator’s wake at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral Grottos in Cubao, Quezon City.

“’Yung pagmamahal at pagpuri sa kanya sana nagawa nung buhay pa siya,” he told reporters past noon.

READ: Miriam Santiago; 71

He said that like President Rodrigo Duterte, his wife devoted most of her life to public service.

“Ang buhay niya parang kay President Duterte na binuhos lang sa pagsisilbi sa bayan at sa tao,” he said.

Santiago served in all the three branches of government—judiciary, executive and legislative. She was a three-term senator beginning in 1995.

“Pero nung buhay pa siya hindi nabigyan,” he added.

The internet was replete with sympathies from the grieving public, colleagues, celebrities and even political rivals as soon as news of the senator’s death broke out.

Santiago’s husband later apologized to the media for being too emotional, and said he had read the tributes for his wife. He did not take back what he said earlier, however.

“Sana nung buhay pa ginawa ’yun,” he said./rga

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