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Wear red for Miriam, volunteers ask supporters


Late Senator Miriam Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LEO M. SABANGAN II.

Supporters of the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago will wear red鈥揾er campaign color鈥搕o mark her first death anniversary today (Friday).

Santiago鈥檚 campaign volunteers, mostly millennials, and former staff members will spearhead a daylong gathering followed by a night concert dubbed, 鈥淐oncert for Miriam,鈥 today at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.

Iron Lady鈥檚 greatness

In the past few days, her youth volunteers have reunited, turning again to social media to drum up support for their idol鈥檚 crusade for good governance.

鈥淓veryone is encouraged to tie a red ribbon anywhere and wear red (shirt, scarf, shoes, handkerchief, etc.) 鈥 as commemoration of the Iron Lady鈥檚 greatness,鈥 read their banner on Facebook.

On Twitter, they urged users to use #MiriamIsForever.

鈥淚鈥檓 doing this because Senator Miriam is my ultimate idol. I was actually her first volunteer,鈥 said Paolo Quimbo, 25, one of the concert organizers.

Quimbo continues to update the Facebook site he created in 2014 for Santiago鈥檚 supporters.

Since Santiago鈥檚 death, the site which was used for her presidential campaign, has been retitled, 鈥淭he Legacy of Miriam Defensor-Santiago.鈥 It has retained its more than 300,000 followers.

鈥淚鈥檓 doing this because Senator Miriam is my ultimate idol. I was actually her first volunteer,鈥 Quimbo said.

Von Villanueva, 23, another organizer, said the senator鈥檚 campaign volunteers and former staff members had continued to meet even after her death to mark special occasions such as her birthday.

Santiago, 71, succumbed to lung cancer.

鈥淲e love Miriam. This is our way of paying tribute to her and making sure that her legacy will be passed down to other youths who may have started to forget her,鈥 Villanueva said.

Villanueva wrote the campaign jingle, 鈥淎angat Tayo sa Galing ng Pilipino,鈥 but has revised the lyrics for the concert tonight.

Quimbo and Villanueva said the gathering was also a way to revisit the adventures the volunteers shared during the three-month long campaign last year.

鈥楲ife-changing campaign鈥

Though most of them were political neophytes, the volunteers carried the campaign by organizing provincial caravans and campus sorties, and campaigning on social media using their own resources.

鈥淭he campaign was life-changing because even though we didn鈥檛 have any money we still continued to fight,鈥 Quimbo said, recalling the times when he and other supporters slept on the floor with a tarpaulin as mattress, or when they would brave the summer heat and eat on sidewalks.

鈥淚 remember campaigning in Rizal province with 10 to 15 other volunteers and we only had P3,000. But we were able to properly budget that amount,鈥 Quimbo said.

Villanueva said some volunteers, including himself, had to give up their job or their time to look for a job in order to go full-time in the campaign.

鈥淭hey did not have to tell us what to do. We did it because we love her, we believe in her,鈥 he said.

One of his best memories was hosting the launch of the Youth for Miriam volunteers on Valentines鈥 Day last year.

鈥淚t was the first time I was able to hold her hand when I assisted her onstage,鈥 Villanueva said.

Despite Santiago鈥檚 cancer and her lagging survey ratings, Quimbo and Villanueva said the senator鈥檚 volunteers were never discouraged throughout the campaign.

Villanueva said they were energized by the 鈥淢iriam Magic鈥 they witnessed during the campus sorties, where Santiago was treated like a rock star.

Quimbo recalled Santiago鈥檚 humor-laced fighting words: 鈥淪ugod lang tayo nang sugod dahil ang mga mababa ang IQ titigil din yan!鈥

鈥淭his has been our mantra. So even though she鈥檚 not with us anymore we still continue our fight for good governance. We will never stop spreading her advocacies,鈥 he said.

Congressional award

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella yesterday welcomed the resolution authored by Sens. Grace Poe and Sonny Angara seeking to bestow on Santiago the Quezon Service Cross for her exemplary contributions to the nation.

Abella said that President Rodrigo Duterte highly respected the late senator. 鈥淭he late senator鈥檚 contribution to the country is beyond question,鈥 Abella added.

The award is the highest national recognition of outstanding civilian service in the country in memory of the late President Manuel Quezon. With a report from Philip C. Tubeza

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