Miriam nominated for highest civil service award

President Rodrigo Duterte has nominated the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago for conferment of the Quezon Service Cross, the highest civilian award in the Philippines, Senator Sonny Angara said Tuesday.

Angara, author of a Senate resolution seeking to bestow the Quezon Service Cross on the late senator, said the Senate has received Duterte's formal nomination.

“The late Senator Miriam deserves no less than the President’s official endorsement for the nation’s recognition of her exemplary contribution as a public servant,” Angara said.

Angara said Duterte sent a letter to Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III requesting that Congress approve the posthumous conferment of the award on Santiago.

Duterte, according to Angara, stated that Santiago “used her considerable talents for the service of the people and our nation while exhibiting remarkable passion, courage and integrity. She inspired generations of Filipinos to aspire for excellence and remain steadfast against any challenge and adversity.”

Created in 1946, the Quezon Service Cross is awarded to a person "for exemplary service to the nation in memory of the late President Manuel L. Quezon."

Only five recipients

Both houses of Congress must approve the nomination of the late Senator Santiago for the award, which has only been given to five people since its creation.

It was awarded posthumously to Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo (November 2012), Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. (August 2004), and President Ramon Magsaysay (July 1957). Receiving the award during their lifetime were former President Emilio Aguinaldo (June 1956) and former UN General Assembly President Carlos Romulo (April 1951). — BM, GMA News