BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY

Miriam Palma Defensor was born on June 15,1945, two months before the end of
Second World War. She is the eldest of seven children of Benjamin Defensor, a prominent
lawyer and trial judge and Dimpna Palma, an educator and dean of Lincoln College. Miriam
studied at Lincoln College up to the fourth grade where her mother worked. She then
transferred to La Paz Public Elementary School after her mother resigned from Lincoln College
due to an issue she had with the schools president.

Miriam lived in a small house with a nipa roof and along with her siblings played with toy
cars constructed from sardine cans and bottle caps that they themselves made. Despite this,
the Defensor family was prominent in their place owing to the fact that both parents were
respected for their professions. While at La Paz Public Elementary School, Miriam volunteered
to the watch the canteen from time to time to have free snacks. She had always chosen banana
cake which for her was the symbol of luxury and choice of the rich children, by that time.

Even at a very young age, Miriam already exhibited amazing intellectual capabilities. An
avid reader, she spent a lot of time in the local United States Information Service Library.
Through her constant reading, her remarkable talent was further developed. Miriam was also an
outstanding writer and served as the student editor of her elementary schools newspaper.
Miriam graduated from elementary at the top of her class, earning for herself the first honors.

Miriam was much more known for her academic excellence when she was in college at
University of the Philippines Visayas and University of the Philippines Law School at University

The Monster of ANDRES

MIRIAM DEFENSOR SANTIAGO

Vina C. Yu | PSYC 1D | Midterm Output:Personality Review

Instructor: Reynan S. Salo

1st Semester, S.Y. 2016-2017 |Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan

of the Philippines Diliman. She finished her Bachelor of Arts Political Science in University of the
Philippines Visayas for only three and a half years and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1965.
On the second half of the year, she fulfilled her dream of being a writer and received so many
awards and recognition as one. Aside from graduating Magna Cum Laude, she also received
the Rotary Award for Most Outstanding Graduate.

She proceeded with her studies at University of the Philippines Diliman and took up Law.
It is where she set a lot of records. She made her presence known through her academic
prowess and received the following citations;

First female editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, the Philippine Collegian

position which for 50 years is only held by male students.
She also earned the highest number of consecutive college scholarships.
First female student to win Best Debater in the annual debate between
University of the Philippines Manila and University of the Philippines Diliman Law
Schools.
A two-time recipient of the Vinzons Achievement Award for excellence in student
leadership.
One of the UP Ten Outstanding Coeds
Described by Manila Chronicle Magazine as Super Girl at the State University

Not only that, she entered University of Michigan Law School after winning the De Witt
Fellowship. She completed the first semester with a very high grade, a first time in the history of
the school. For this reason, she was allowed to take a special program which enabled her to
finish Master of Laws and Doctor of the Science of Jurisprudence degree.

Miriam was also involved in extracurricular activities. She was a swimmer and a
basketball player. She also likes classical music specifically songs by Sarah Brightman. She
could write functionally using either her left or right hand.

As a politician, professor and public servant Miriam received notable recognitions worthy
to reacon with;

Ramon Magsaysay Award for Good Governance and hailed as Asias Nobel
Prize.
100 Most Powerful Women in the World by the Australian Womens Magazine.
 Offered to become a legal officer of the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees in Switzerland in 1979.
First Filipino to win a seat as judge at the International Criminal Court
A woman senator with the longest term in Philippine History
One the most significant and respectable member of the Philippine Senate.
Among the few senators who has written and co-written the most number of bills
and acts.
Excellent performance as Commissioner of the Bureau of immigration and
Deportation.
Secretary of Agrarian Reform

SALIENT POINTS IN LIFE

Lopez relationship with his mother Tension was in between Lopez and his mother.
Their relationship became irreparable. Lopez couldnt forgive his mother that he blamed
her foreverything that happened to him. Every abuses that he experienced fueledup his
rage towards his mother and further decreased his self-esteem. This relationship is the
primary cause of his future crimes.
Growing up without a father He grew up without a father. This means he lacks a fathers
image. This could be a reason why he easily trusted older men or men with stature. Like
the pedophile who deceived him with offering him home and food, and to Captain
Cordova, to whom he trusted and unfolded his story. Aside from that, there was no father
that was there to teach him how to become a man, how to face sufferings and the reality
objectively without falling into the abysmal void, to be competent and to be courageous
and to learn self-discipline and self-control.
His abusive childhood life with his mother, the pedophile, his experiences in the violent
Colombian streets, his prison gang-rape experience The abuses he experienced in his
lifetime brought about the serial killer in him. Aside from being alone and feeling
abandoned, living in the chaotic streets of a warring country, being helpless and being a
gamines, his experiences of abuse didnt just trigger but also intensified his anger and
rage. The main motivational factor that trapped him in the vicious cycle of boredom,
hatred, rage, and revenge.
His frustration, being a nobody, no social recognition, and growing up feeling
unimportant When his crime became known, he took pride on all that he has done.
 Without remorse, he even held one of the skull of his victims by the hand proudly for a
picture taking as if it was his trophy. He found a way to make himself recognized. Since
then, he led the police as if with full enthusiasm to his victims graves, making him feel
more popular. He even shared his personal life philosophies in some of his interviews.
His feeling of inferiority because of being abused and living a miserable life This is the
reason why he would kill poor little girls because they are weak, easy to deceive, and
wont fight back. Thus, it makes him feel stronger, powerful and superior.

APPLICATIONS OF PERSONALITY THEORIES

1. Using Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, Miriam successfully met her physiologic needs by
working as volunteer in the canteen and was able to eat banana cake she wanted so
much. She was also contented in playing with her siblings using toys which they
themselves made. She also spent a lot of time reading at the library because they
couldnt buy books. She successfully met all the tasks of the different levels of the
hierarchy including the last level which is the need for self- actualization. Miriam certainly
knows how to get what she wanted.
2. Using Freuds theory of personality, Miriam over compensated for her low score in the
bar examination. To boost her credentials and get over her dismal performance in the
bar examination, Miriam resorted to higher learning. She attended the University of
Michigan Law School after winning the De Witt Fellowship earning degrees in Master of
Laws and Doctor of Juridicial Science. Miriam wasnt easily discouraged. She didnt
allow a setback to put her down. Furthermore, Miriam pursued education in other
universities abroad such as the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University
and finally the University of Cambridge.
3. If we use the personality theory of Maslow, Lopez had never satisfied his physiological
needs. Up to the last chapter of his written history, he was still driven by his physiological
needs, his deficiency motivation. He grew up in the violent streets scavenging for food to
eat and clothes to wear, and fighting for his life to survive. He therefore is a non-self-
actualizer. He may have experienced some sort of peak experience as he wrapped his
victims throat with his hands but that was not a true and lasting peak experience and it
is not the transcendental peak experiences that Maslow talked about. It was just an
 elusive fleeting peak experience. He did not have an efficient perception of reality. He
judged the little children as needing his help to end their miserable lives. He couldnt
accept himself. He doesnt have guilt nor a faint feeling of remorse. He will never reach
self-actualization because he was still motivated by his physiological needs and aside
from that, his self-image was already distorted.According to Maslow, Wickedness is not
an inherited trait but rather the result of an inappropriate environment. This is applicable
to the life of Lopez as his environment, the people he lived with and the society molded
him to become a sociopath serial killer giving him nothing more than experiences of
violence, abuse and suffering that blinded him of his search for freedom and self-
actualization.

PERSONAL ANALYSIS

The life of Miriam is an excellent example of a balanced interplay a strong power of

nurture and nature. Miriams mother played a significant role in shaping Miriams personality and
desire to succeed in life. Even at a very young age, her mother already encouraged and
empowered Miriam to always aim for the top and pushed her daughter to always be at her best.
Her father, a lawyer himself influenced Miriam to take up Law instead of Literature, she has the
full support and guidance of her parents. Her exceptional intellectual abilities exhibited act a
very young age was enhanced by her love for reading. This further developed her remarkable
talent. Having no money to buy books didnt deter her passion in reading. She spent a lot of
time in the library in order to read as much as she can.

There was no conflict between what course her father wanted her to take and what she
liked. She gladly followed her fathers wish to take up Law in order to protect her cousins whom
her father considered criminals. After fulfilling her fathers dream, she fulfilled her dream of
being a writer and received so many awards and recognition as one.

Miriam was also sure of what she does and what she wants. Her personal confidence is
very remarkable. She does not allow her failures, mistakes and negative circumstances to let
her think lowly if herself. She does not also let whatever happens in her life affect her
competency. For her, work is work; life is life.

Her family, her exceptional intellectual abilities, her studies here and abroad, her fight for
justice and truth, her courage and determination and her career in both the private and public
sector all contributed to make Miriam extraordinary.
REFERENCES

Clarke, P. (2012). Serial killer monsters (3-in-1 true crime compendium) (Epitome of evil).
Oxford: Oxford Publishing Ventures Ltd.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1E4IHEF_7g

Lohr, D. (n.d.). Pedro Lopez: The monster of the Andes. Crime Library.com website. Retrieved
July 21, 2014, from
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/pedro_lopez/1.html

Montaldo, C. (n.d.). Pedro Alonso Lopez - The monster of the Andes. About.com website.
Retrieved from http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/lobez.htm

Pedro Alonso Lopez. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved July 23, 2014, from
http://www.biography.com/people/pedro-alonso-lopez-12103226.

Pedro Lpez (serial killer). (n.d.). Wikipedia.com website. Retrieved July 21, 2014, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_L%C3%B3pez_(serial_killer)

Siglo XX en el Tiempo. Ao. 1949 [Twentieth Century in Time. Year. 1949]. (1999, November
10). El Tiempo.com website. Retrieved from
http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-958512