Losing presidential candidate Sen. Miriam Santiago was rushed to the hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Makati Medical Center on Monday, likely due to complications from her advanced stage of lung cancer. According to Miriam’s husband Narciso “Jun” Santiago,” the senator was transferred from his private to ICU on Tuesday night.
The 70-year-old prominent lawmaker extended her medical leave due to anorexia, a side effect of one of her anti-cancer treatments. During the year 2014, Sen. Santiago was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, despite her illness she decided to run for President of the Republic but lost to president-elect Rodrigo Duterte.
The internationally-renowned lawyer made a name for herself as the only Filipino who served as Legal Officer of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at Geneva, Switzerland. She was the first Filipino and first Asian from a developing country to be elected to the International Criminal Court, but her chronic fatigue syndrome forces her to step down.
In a statement released to the press, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago thanks all her family, friends, supporters, fans and others who helped pray for her recovery and sent their well-wishes on Facebook. The senator has a huge following on social media, she has more than 3.6 million followers on Facebook alone.
The husband of Sen. Miriam Santiago, Jun Santiago, said that visitors are not allowed to enter the ICU and that gifts will not be accepted, such as flowers and other blooms. Although the feisty lawmaker is in ICU, his wife is bearing well with her trademark sense of humor.
Last July, Sen. MDS as what her followers on Facebook calls her fondly, said she has beaten cancer with the help of “wonder pill,” and later filed her very own certificate of candidacy for her third attempt to the highest position in the land, the president of the Republic.
With 1,455,532 votes, Defensor-Santiago finished fifth and last behind President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, Mar Roxas, Senator Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay.