Fidel V. Ramos

Fidel V. Ramos
File:Ph pres ramos.jpg
12th President of the Philippines 2nd President of the 5th Republic
In office June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998
Vice President	Joseph Estrada
Preceded by	Corazon Aquino
Succeeded by	Joseph Estrada
Personal details
Born	March 18, 1928 Lingayen, Pangasinan
Political party	Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats
Spouse	Amelita Martinez

Fidel Valdez Ramos (born March 18, 1928) was the 12th President of the Philippines. He succeeded Corazon Aquino and governed until 1998, when he was succeeded by Joseph Estrada.

During the authoritarian regime of President Ferdinand Marcos, Ramos was head of the Philippine Constabulary, implementing Marcos' declaration of martial law. In the 1986 People Power Revolution, Ramos defected from the government and was a key figure in the civilian demonstrations that forced Marcos into exile.

Ramos' six-year term as President was characterized by rapid economic growth and political stability in the country despite facing communist insurgencies, an Islamic separatist movement in Mindanao, and the onslaught of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Early life and career

Ramos was born on March 18, 1928 in Lingayen, Pangasinan. His father, Narciso Ramos (1900-1986), was a lawyer, crusading journalist and 5-term legislator of the House of Representatives, who eventually rose to the position of Secretary of Foreign Affairs. As such, Narciso Ramos was the Philippine signatory to the ASEAN declaration forged in Bangkok in 1967. His mother, Angela Valdez-Ramos (1905-1977), was an educator, woman suffragette and daughter of the respected Valdez clan of Batac, Ilocos Norte making him the second degree cousin to Ferdinand Marcos. He took his elementary education in Lingayen and secondary education in the University of the Philippines Integrated School.

In 1946, Ramos, barely months after enrolling in the Philippines' National University, won a government scholarship to the United States Military Academy in West Point. Seeing the need to help raise his country from the ruins of war, he pursued further studies in engineering following his graduation from West Point in 1950, obtaining a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering in the University of Illinois, where he was also a government scholar in 1951.

In his military career, Ramos, rose from 2nd Lieutenant infantry platoon leader in the Philippine Expeditionary Force (PEFTOK) in 1952 during the Korean War to Chief of Staff of the Philippine Civil Action Group to Vietnam from 1966 to 1968. He is also known as the "father" of the Philippine Army Special Forces, an elite paratroop unit skilled in community development as well as fighting communist insurgents.

In Korean War, Ramos along with the Philippines' 20th Battalion Combat Team and his fellow West Point graduates of the 1950's played a major combat role in this forgotten war. Ramos was the hero of the Battle of Hill Eerie, where he led his platoon to sabotage the enemy in Hill Eerie. While in Vietnam War, he was able to used his profession as a Civil Engineer.

Ramos has received several military awards including the Philippine Legion of Honor, the Gold Cross, Philippine Military Merit Medal, the United States Legion of Merit, the French Legion of Honor and the U.S. Military Academy Distinguished Award.

Ramos served the Marcos regime for more than 20 years — in the military, as head of the Philippine Constabulary, the country's national police force, and as a trusted advisor. He was a member of the infamous Rolex 12, a group of conspirators loyal to Marcos himself. Realizing that the Marcos regime was about to collapse, Ramos sided with Aquino when the People Power Revolution erupted in 1986 and became the living symbol of military defiance against Marcos. The military followed his lead and swung the pendulum in her favor.

After Aquino assumed the Presidency, she appointed Ramos Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and later Secretary of National Defense, foiling seven coup attempts against the Aquino administration.

1992 Presidential Elections

In December 1991, Ramos declared his candidacy for President. He however, lost the nomination of the dominant party Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) to House Speaker Ramon Mitra. Days later, he bolted LDP and founded the Partido Lakas ng Tao (People Power Party), inviting Cebu Governor Emilio Mario Osmeña as his Vice President. The party formed a coalition with the National Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD) of Congressman Jose de Venecia and the United Muslim Democrats of the Philippines (UMDP) of Simeon Datumanong. Ramos and Osmeña campaigned for economic reforms and improved national security and unity. He was nicknamed as "Steady Eddie" as he campaigned well and gained a steady popularity during the campaign with popular support from President Aquino.

He won the seven-way race on May 11, 1992, narrowly defeating populist Agrarian Reform Secretary Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Despite winning, he garnered only 23.5% of the vote, the lowest plurality in the country's history. The election results were marred by allegations of fraud, though cheating on a large scale has not been proven. However, his running mate, Governor Osmeña lost to Senator Joseph Estrada as Vice President.

Presidency

At the time of his assumption into power, Ramos was the oldest person to become president of the Philippines at the age of 64. He is also the first Protestant president of the country. His administration (1992-1998) was characterized by economic boom, technological development, political stability and efficient delivery of basic needs to the people. During his time, he advocated party platforms as outline and agenda for governance. As in his case, he was the first Christian Democrat to be elected in the country, being the founder of Lakas-CMD (Christian Democratic Party). He was the one of the most influential leaders and the unofficial spokesman of Liberal Democracy in Asia.

Power Crisis

The Philippines then was experiencing widespread brownouts due to huge demand for electricity and antiquity of power plants. During his State of the Nation address on July 27, 1992, he requested Congress to enact a law that would create an energy department that would plan and manage the Philippines' energy demands. Congress not just created an energy department but gave him special constitutional powers to resolve the power crisis. Using the powers given to him, Ramos issued licenses to independent power producers (IPP) to construct power plants within 24 months. The power crisis was resolved in 1994. The state National Power Corporation, however, suffered huge foreign debts when the company was granted loans to repair and replace some of its power plants.

Unfortunately, Ramos had to issue supply contracts that guaranteed the government would buy whatever power the IPPs produced under the conract in U.S. dollars to entice investments in power plants. This became a problem during the East Asian Financial Crisis when the Philippine Peso lost half it's value and demand for electricity contracted. Despite the contracted demand for power, the government still had to pay the IPPs for power that the contract stipulated they produce. This is regardless whether it was consumed (hence generated) or not. The situation was further exacerbated by the weakening Philippine Peso which raised the price of electricity since the IPPs were paid in US dollars.

The country was considered risky by investors due to previous coup attempts by Gregorio Honasan and experienced brownouts at an almost daily basis lasting 4-12 hours before he issued IPP licences. The low supply of power and perceived instability held back investments and modernization in the country. Few people could have forseen the Asian Financial Crisis which brought about dire implications in the power sector. In addition, the Philippines was a pioneer in the Built-Operate-Transfer (BOP) scheme where private investors are invited to built certain government projects (i.e. tollways, powerplants, railways etc.), make money by charging users, and transfer operation to the government after a set amount of time. As there was no literature or previous experience to such a scheme, most early contracts put a large and undue amount of risk on the government in cases of unfavorable changes in the business environment. Given such factors, most experts and academics consider the generous IPP supply contracts an understandable error and an honest mistake. However, due to the subjective nature of the circumstances, this is still highly debated.

Economic Reforms

During his administration, Ramos began implementing economic reforms intended to open up the once-closed national economy, encourage private enterprise, invite more foreign and domestic investment, and reduce corruption. Ramos was also known as the most travelled Philippine President in recent history with numerous foreign trips abroad, generating about US$ 20 billion worth of foreign investments to the Philippines.

To ensure a positive financial outlook on the Philippines, Ramos led the 4th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Summit in the Philippines on November 1996. He also instituted reforms in the tax system which includes a forced increase on VAT (E-VAT law) from 4% to 10% mandated by World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Under his administration, the Philippines enjoyed economic growth and stability, and was the Far East's leading exporting country. The Philippine Stock Exchange in the mid-1990's was among the best in the world and his visions of 'Philippines 2000' that leads the country into a newly industrialized country in the world and the "Tiger Cub Economy in Asia".

Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen (right) escorts President Fidel V. Ramos (left), of the Republic of the Philippines, through a cordon of honor guards into the Pentagon on April 9, 1998.

Philippines 2000 Five-Point Program:

• Peace and Stability
• Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
• Energy and Power Generation
• Environmental Protection
• Streamlined Bureaucracy

Peace with separatists

Ramos, a military general himself, gifted with a concilatory temperament and a statesman's vision, made peace with the rebel panels. One of the contributions was his being instrumental in the signing of the final peace agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) led by Nur Misuari in 1996. He also ordered the resumption of peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led by Salamat Hashim and the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front, which operates the New People's Army, led by Jose Maria Sison. Ramos created the National Unification Commission and appointed Haydee Yorac as its chairman. He granted the commission's request for amnesty to rebel military officers of the Reform the Armed forces Movement (RAM), led by Col. Gregorio (Gringo) Honasan, who led the 1989 coup d' etat that threatened to oust the Aquino administration(rumors said that he made 50 push-ups for the mutineers before the amnesty).

Spratly Islands

In early 1995, the Philippines discovered a primitive Chinese military structure on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Island, one hundred and thirty nautical miles off the coast of Palawan. The Philippine government issued a formal protest over China’s occupation of the reef and the Philippine Navy arrested sixty-two Chinese fishermen at Half Moon Shoal, eighty kilometers from Palawan. A week later, following confirmation from surveillance pictures that the structures were of military design, President Fidel Ramos had the military forces in the region strengthened. He ordered the Philippine Air Force to dispatch five F-5 fighters backed by four jet trainers and two helicopters, while the navy sent two additional ships. The People’s Republic of China had claimed that the structures were shelters for fishermen but these small incidents could have triggered a war in the South China Sea.

Migrant Workers Protection

One of the downturns of his administration was his experience in handling migrant workers protection. On the eve of his 67th birthday on March 17, 1995, Ramos was on a foreign trip when Flor Contemplación was hanged in Singapore. His last minute effort to negotiate with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong never succeeded and he was marred with protests after his return to Manila. The protests also caused the resignation of Foreign Affairs Secretary Roberto Romulo and Labor Secretary Nieves Confesor from the Cabinet. He immediately recalled Philippine ambassador to Singapore Alicia Ramos and suspended diplomatic relations to Singapore. He created a special commission to look into the case and to try and rescue his sagging popularity. The commission was led by retired justice Emilio Gancayco. The Commission recommended the forced resignation of then Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) head David Corpin and 13 other government officials, including two labor attachés.

President Ramos also facilitated the enactment of Republic Act 8042, better known as the Magna Carta for Overseas Workers or the Migrant Workers Act. The Migrant Workers Act was signed into law on June 7, 1995. Learning from the lessons of Contemplación case, Ramos immediately ordered UAE Ambassador Roy Señeres to facilitate negotiations after learning the death penalty verdict of Sarah Balabagan on September 1995. Balabagan's sentence was lowered and she was released August 1996. After tensions cooled off, Ramos restored diplomatic relations with Singapore after meeting Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong during the sidelines of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in New York City.

Final Years as President

President Ramos was accused of corruption in the PEA-AMARI Manila Bay Reclamation deal. The PEA-AMARI scam tangled the government for years with unexplained disappearance of 6 billion pesos worth of funds.

Towards the end of his term, Ramos talked of amending the Constitution to allow for a second term (the Philippines constitution stipulates a maximum of one six-year term as President). Widespread public protests forced him to drop the demand.

One of his notable contributions to the Philippines was the revival of nationalistic spirit by embarking on a massive promotion campaign for the centennial of Philippine Independence. It was celebrated on June 12, 1998. One of his pet projects was the Centennial Expo and Amphitheater in Clarkfield, Angeles City, Pampanga. The project however marked criticisms from the opposition and his successor, Joseph Estrada for being overpriced and tainted with graft and corruption. Estrada closed the site after a few months in operation.

Post-presidency

After his presidency, Ramos remained one of the many influential political leaders in the Philippines, amidst rumors of his alleged involvement in coup attempts and his alleged want to perpetrate himself in power. He served as Carlyle Group Asia Advisor Board Member until the board was disbanded in February 2004.

In January 2001, Ramos was instrumental in the success of the second EDSA Revolution, a four-day popular revolt that peacefully overthrew Philippine president Joseph Estrada that led Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency. Arroyo repay him by appointing Ramos as the Philippines Goodwill Ambassador to the World Economic Forum.

He is currently the Chairman Emeritus of the Lakas CMD (Christian-Muslim Democrats) Party, formerly known as Lakas NUCD-UMDP or the Partido Lakas Tao - National Union of Christian Democrats - Union of Muslim Democrats of the Philippines.

Expressing his belief in continued economic progress, governance and stability, Ramos successfully convinced President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo not to resign from office at the height of the election-rigging scandal in July 2005. Ramos repeatedly stated that the scandal is nowhere as grave as that of People Power Revolutions of 1986 and 2001, citing factors such as the stagnant Philippine economy in the final years of the Marcos regime as well as the allegedly massive corruption of the Estrada administration. He did however push Arroyo into explaining her vocal involvement in the wiretapped conversation with an election official.

Ramos also unveiled his proposals for constitutional change of the country. Citing economics, globalization and the need to improve governance for all Filipinos, Ramos suggested the government to start the process for charter change with a set deadline in 2007 (by which the new charter and new government will take effect). Ramos supports the transformation of government from the current presidential system into a parliament as he cited the flaws of the democratic system.

2006

Recently, Fidel V. Ramos had separate meetings with politicians. The first was held at his Makati City office with the presence of Senate President Franklin Drilon and former Senator Tito Sotto. Afterwards, another private meeting followed, this time with President Arroyo.

In relation to the meetings, Ramos rejected invitations from the political opposition and stressed that his support is with the administration. He admitted however that Arroyo and her team has been sluggish in implementing the much-needed reforms which he suggested (including the need for Arroyo to step down from power in 2007). Political adviser Gabriel Claudio confirmed the Ramos-Arroyo meeting and said that a compromise over reforms has been reached.

At a high-profile summit of the Lakas-CMD held January 15, 2006, delegates of the party rejected his proposals and favored Arroyo's initiative.

He is currently representing the Philippines in the ASEAN Eminent Persons Group, task to draft the Charter of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). He was also a member of numerous international groups and forums, he is currently the Chairman of the Boa'o Forum of Asia. Ramos was heavily recommended for the position of the United Nations envoy to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) in June 2006.

Personal life

Eddie, as friends call him, is married to Amelita Martinez, a consultant of the International School Manila in Taguig, Metro Manila. They have five daughters: Josephine "Jo", Carolina "Cbula", Cristine "Cristy" and Gloria "Margie". He is a Protestant granting him the distinction of being the first non-Catholic president of the Philippines. He is the fourth president of Ilocano descent (Quirino, Magsaysay and Marcos being the others).

Ramos received his Bachelor of Science in Military Engineering degree from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1950, Master of Civil Engineering degree from the University of Illinois in 1951 and Master of Business Administration degree from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1980. He was the first Asian recipient of the UNESCO Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize and was a recipient of various awards and honorary doctorates. In 1997, he was given an honorary doctorate by the Ateneo de Manila University.

Ramos keeps himself physically fit for the severe demands of public service through a variety of sports activities. He is past Vice President of the Philippine Olympic Committee, and past President of the Philippine Badminton Association.

Ramos also served as Chairman Emeritus of the now-defunct Urban Bank from 1998 to 2000. He founded the Ramos Foundation for Peace and Development (RPDEV) where its office is located in the Urban Bank Building (now ExportBank Plaza).

Facts

• His father, Narciso Ramos, was a lawyer, crusading journalist and a five-term legislator (representing Pangasinan) in the House of Representatives. He served eight Philippine Presidents as a Congressman, as a Secretary of National Defense, as a Secretary of Foreign Affairs, as an Ambassador/Diplomat and as a Philippine Delegate in several international meetings. Historically, Narciso Ramos was the Philippine founding signatory to the ASEAN declaration forged in Bangkok, Thailand on 1967.
• Former President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos was his second cousin, whom he eventually ousted in the People Power Revolution on February 1986, becoming the living symbol of military defiance against Marcos dictatorship and the military hero of the revolution.
• His sister, Leticia Ramos-Shahani, was a politician and a writer. She had represented the Philippines in the United Nations becoming the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Social and Humanitarian Affairs; she was later elected Senator in the Philippines, and rose to Senate President Pro-Tempore position during her brother’s presidency.
• In 2000, Fidel Ramos (Class 1950) alongside fellow members of the Long Gray Line and West Pointers - fellow Korean War veteran U.S. Air Force Colonel/Astronaut Edwin Aldrin (Class 1951) and American General Frederick Franks Jr. (1959), were awarded Distinguished Graduate Award from the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy in the West Point, USA.
• In Korean War, Fidel Ramos, a lieutenant West Pointer, lead a United Nations Filipino Platoon (20th BCT PEFTOK-UNC) on May 21, 1951 to victory at the Battle of Hill Eerie and established a United Nation post in the infamous hill.
• Fidel Ramos belongs to the great modern generation of Asian leaders in the 20th Century - Mahathir bin Muhammad (Malaysia), Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore), Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX of Thailand), King Norodom Sihanouk (Cambodia), Lee Teng-hui (Taiwan) and Jiang Zemin (China), all were born in the decade of 1920s.
• During his presidency, Ramos was featured in the main and cover story of TIME Magazine, May 15, 1995, lauding him for his "no-nonsense leadership" after years of misrule by his predeccesors, showing that "democracy is no enemy of development." While NEWSWEEK Magazine christened the Philippines as "Asia's New Tiger" in its cover story on November 25, 1996. It details how President Ramos transformed the country from the "Sickman of Asia" to an Economic Tiger. Ramos also feature in Readers' Digest Cover Story in mid-1996, "The man atops Asia next Economic Tiger".

References

• Zaide, Sonia M. (1999). The Philippines: A Unique Nation. All Nations Publishing. ISBN 971-642-071-4.
• Bardos, Phil, Cold War Warriors: The Story of the Achievements and Leadership of the Men of the West Point Class of 1950, (United States, 2000)
• Johnson, Bryan, Four Days of Courage: The Untold Story of the Fall of Ferdinand Marcos, (Toronto, Canada, 1987)
• Cal, Ben, FVR Through the Years, (Washington D.C., USA, 1998)
• Hamilton-Paterson, James, America's Boy: The Marcoses and the Philippines, (Granta Books, London, Great Britain, 1998)
• Lazaro, Isagani L., Mga Dakilang Lider na Pilipino, 5th Edition, (National Book Store, Mandaluyong City, Philippines, 2004)
• Chŏnsa Pʻyŏnchʻan Wiwŏnhoe, The history of the United Nations forces in the Korean War, Volume I-VI, (Seoul, Ministry of National Defense, Republic of Korea, 1972-77)
• Ramos Presidential Center, Makati City

External links

• The Philippine Presidency Project
• Fidel Ramos Community Forum