Former senator Santanina Rasul passes away at 94
Former senator Santanina Rasul has passed away at the age of 94.
News of her death was confirmed by her daughter Amina on Facebook on Nov. 29, detailing that she "left us peacefully last night and has returned to Allah."
Amina described Santanina as a "gentle soul, proud of her heritage and her people, and unafraid to fight for her convictions and advocacies."
"She was an educator at heart since she graduated from UP (University of the Philippines), even when she served in the Senate. I remember her taking a bus to travel—after we had lost everything during the Jolo Siege—just to train teachers who wanted to learn how to teach adult illiterates," Amina recounted.
Santanina's remains will be brought to the Blue Mosque in Taguig in the afternoon of Nov. 30 before being flown to Jolo where she will lie beside her husband Abraham, who passed away in 2002.
"Thank you all for your prayers and remembrances. For all our friends who wish to send flowers, do contribute instead to a scholarship fund that we will raise in her name for the young of our indigenous communities, especially those from Muslim Mindanao," Amina stated.
She requested that donations be sent to Magbassa Kita Foundation Inc., which is a non-government organization dedicated to the promotion of literacy, poverty alleviation, and peace especially in Mindanao.
Born in 1930, Santanina grew up with the desire to enter politics, having finished Political Science at UP Diliman as a cum laude before obtaining a master's degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines.
After serving as a public school teacher in Siasi and Jolo from 1952 to 1957, Santanina went on to hold office in the government. She first became a barrio councilor in Jolo beginning in 1960 up until 1963 before steadily rising in the ranks until she was finally elected as senator in 1987.
As one of the early female senators, she championed significant legislation concerning women's rights, Muslim affairs, family, and gender equality.
Among her achievements are co-authoring a law that opened the doors of the Philippine Military Academy to women and a law declaring March 8 of every year as National Women's Day in the Philippines.
She had six children with her husband.
