UNFPA mourns the sudden passing of Senator Miriam Defensor, a passionate and relentless advocate for reproductive health and rights. We wish to convey our deepest sympathy to her loved ones at this difficult time. 

Senator Santiago led an extraordinary battle against corruption, political awareness and engaged citizenship. She consistently supported UNFPA with her leadership in the passage of the Responsible Parenthood - Reproductive Health (RPRH) Bill of 2012. With her death, UNFPA has lost an ally who displayed an unwavering determination in securing legislative support for our cause. Under the late Senator’s inspired leadership, the RPRH law was passed in the Congress after over 14 years of hard work. Her steadfast partnership with UNFPA remains an inspirational example of collaboration between the UN and the Government of Philippines. The partnership will always be celebrated as a powerful achievement to bring about better reproductive health care across the country.

The best way to honour her formidable achievements is to continue to support the causes she passionately argued for, to live by her principles and remain vigilant of our rights and freedoms. 

 
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Photo By Danremo08 (Own work [1]) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons