Miriam Defensor-Santiago passes away at 71

Former Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago passed away Thursday morning after battling lung cancer. She was 71.
“She died this morning in her sleep, she was unconscious when she passed away,” her husband, Narciso “Jun” Santiago told the Inquirer.

He said Santiago passed away at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City, where she had been taken on and off for complications of her ailment. Santiago was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2014.

Senator Grace Poe, who was presiding over the hearing of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, confirmed Santiago’s passing during its hearing on the Freedom of Information Bill.

Poe paused the hearing to offer a prayer for her former colleague.

“I would like to ask we take a moment of silence to pray for the soul of an esteemed, a respected courageous colleague, a woman who had helped us in the past pass the freedom of information bill. May we pray for Senator Santiago, she passed away a few minutes ago,” she said.

source : inquirer