The bill renaming Agham Road and BIR Road in Quezon City after the late Senator Miriam P. Defensor-Santiago has officially become law.

Republic Act (RA) 11963, which designates Agham Road and BIR Road in Quezon City, stretching from North Avenue and extending through Quezon Avenue up to East Avenue, as Senator Miriam P. Defensor-Santiago Avenue, was enacted on October 12.

The new law, publicly disclosed on a Saturday, instructs the Department of Public Works and Highways to issue the necessary regulations, directives, and circulars for the implementation of its provisions within 60 days of its enactment.

Defensor-Santiago, who passed away in September 2016 after a prolonged battle with lung cancer, held distinguished roles in all three branches of the Philippine government, including the judiciary, executive, and legislative.

Before her three terms as a senator, she served as a presiding judge in the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City and as a commissioner of the Department of Immigration.

She earned monikers such as the “Iron Lady of Asia” and the “Dragon Lady.”

Defensor-Santiago, a passionate advocate for global justice, made history as the first Asian judge elected to the International Criminal Court and the first Filipino elected as a commissioner for the International Development Organization. She also worked as a legal officer at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1988, she was honored with the Magsaysay Award for Government Service, often referred to as the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, recognizing her bold and principled leadership in cleaning up a corruption-plagued government agency.

RA 11963 received approval from both the House of Representatives and the Senate on March 21, 2023, and August 14, 2023, respectively.

According to the Official Gazette, if the President does not take action on a proposed law submitted by Congress, it automatically becomes law after 30 days of receipt.

The law will take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. (ai/mnm)