Rizal Hall, Malacañan Palace
December 3, 2018

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte bestowed posthumously the prestigious Quezon Service Cross Award (QSCA) on the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago at the Rizal Hall in Malacañan Palace.

“Senator Santiago dedicated her life to public service for almost 50 years… serving all branches of government throughout her stellar career. She embodies the highest standards expected on any public servant with her academic, professional and moral excellence,” President Duterte said.

Accepting the posthumous award is the late Senator’s husband and Presidential Adviser for Revenue Enhancement, Undersecretary Narciso Santiago, Jr., who shared funny anecdotes of his beloved wife during their courtship and later in their marriage.

The Quezon Service Cross Award (QSCA) is the highest national distinction conferred on a Filipino for “exemplary service to the nation in such a manner and such a degree as to add great prestige to the Republic of the Philippines, or as to contribute to the lasting benefit of its people.”

The late Senator is the sixth and the first woman to receive this rare distinction after the late Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo on November 26, 2012. Among those who received the same distinction were Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Carlos P. Romulo in 1951, President Emilio Aguinaldo in 1956, President Ramon Magsaysay in 1957, and Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., in 2004.

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