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Mechel T. Santiago, daughter-in-law of the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, remembers the unexpected yet lovely friendship of the politician and Kapuso star Heart Evangelista.

In her Facebook post on Thursday, November 28, Mechel shared throwback photos of the two taken from their vacation in New York in 2011, the year before Heart and Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero started dating.

In the caption, the younger Santiago pondered on what the deceased senator would think about the Global Icon if she's still alive today.

"If the late Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago is alive today, I believe that she would be proud of what Ms. Heart Evangelista had become, a Global Fashion Icon. She has excelled in her own field," Mechel wrote.

Sen. Miriam may be called "The Iron Lady of Asia" or "Dragon Lady" because of her scathing leadership but she had a soft spot, too.

It was the late senator who led Chiz to Heart, making her their matchmaker.

Since then, Miriam became very close to Heart, whom she lovingly referred to as her "surrogate daughter" because she never had one.

For Heart, the lady senator was so involved in her life that she's like her mother and manager.

"She sketched my life for me. I am in such a better place because of her. It was like she knew she was gonna leave," the Kapuso star said in a past interview with Pep.ph.

“So, I'm so grateful. Parang she set me up before she left us.”

Meanwhile, take a peek at Heart's life behind the glitz and glam in Heart World, airing every Saturday, 9:30 p.m. on GMA and Kapuso Stream.