Miriam Defensor Santiago (born Miriam Palma Defensor on June 15, 1945) is a Senator of the Philippines

Senate of the Philippines

The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...

. She is a lawyer, former trial judge and professor of constitutional and international law. She served as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation in 1988 and the Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform from 1989 to 1991. She is the founder and current leader of the People's Reform Party

People's Reform Party

The People's Reform Party is a political party in the Philippines. Founded on April 12, 1991 as the political party of former Agrarian Reform Secretary Miriam Defensor-Santiago for her bid as President in the 1992 Presidential Elections. During the 1992 Elections, the party nominated Santiago as...

, and a Laureate of the Ramon Magsaysay Award

Ramon Magsaysay Award

The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel...

 for government service.

Defensor Santiago ran for President of the Philippines

President of the Philippines

The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...

 in 1992, and led the canvass of votes for the first five days, but was ultimately defeated by a margin of less than a million votes out of 36 million votes.