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Ramos, F

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_V._Ramos

Fidel Valdez Ramos AFP PLH GCMG (born March 18, 1928), popularly known as FVR and Eddie, was the 12th President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. During his six years in office, Ramos was widely credited and admired by many for revitalizing and renewing international confidence in the Philippine economy.

Prior to his election as President, Ramos served in the Cabinet of President Corazón Aquino, first as chief-of-staff of theArmed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and later on, as Secretary of National Defense from 1986 to 1991.[2]

During the historic 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, Ramos was hailed as a hero by many Filipinos for his decision to breakaway from the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos and pledge allegiance and loyalty to the newly established government of President Aquino.

Under Ramos, the Philippines experienced a period of political stability and rapid economic growth and expansion, as a result of his policies and programs designed to foster national reconciliation and unity. Ramos was able to secure major peace agreements with Muslim separatists, communist insurgents and military rebels, which renewed investor confidence in the Philippine economy. Ramos also aggressively pushed for the deregulation of the nation's major industries and the privatization of bad government assets. As a result of his hands-on approach to the economy, the Philippines was dubbed by various internationally as Asia's Next Economic Tiger.

However, the momentum in the economic gains made under his administration was briefly interrupted during the onset of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Nevertheless, during the last year of the term, the economy managed to make a rebound since it was not severely hit by the crisis as compared to other Asian economies. He also oversaw the Philippine Centennial Independence celebrations in 1998.

Ramos has received numerous awards, and is the only Filipino to have received an honorary British order, having been made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1995. A member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Ramos is notably the first and to date only Protestantpresident of the majority Roman Catholic country.

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Early life and education

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He received elementary education in Lingayen Public Schools. Ramos began secondary education at the }:University of the Philippines High School in theCity of Manila, and continued in Mapúa Institute of Technology. He graduated high school from Centro Escolar Universityin 1945. He later on enrolled with a degree in Civil Engineering at National University in Manila. He was Top 8 in the Civil Engineering Board Exam in 1953.[3][4] Afterwards he went to the United States and he graduated from the United States Military Academy, with Bachelor of Science in Military Engineering and the University of Illinois, with a master's degree in civil engineering. He also holds a master's degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines and a master's degree in Business Administration from Ateneo de Manila University. In addition, he received a total of 29 honorary doctorate degrees.[3][4][5]Fidel Ramos was born on March 18, 1928 in Lingayen, Pangasinan.[3] His father, Narciso Ramos (1900–1986), was a lawyer, journalist and five-term legislator of the House of Representatives, who eventually rose to the position of Secretary of Foreign Affairs.[4] As such, Narciso Ramos was the Philippine signatory to the ASEAN declaration forged in Bangkok in 1967, and was a founding member of the Liberal Party. His mother, Angela Valdez (1905–1977), was an educator, woman suffragette, and member of the respected Valdez clan of Batac, Ilocos Norte, making her a second degree cousin to former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos.[4]

Marriage

He married Amelita Martinez on 21 October 1954, and together they have five daughters: Angelita Ramos-Jones, Josephine Ramos-Samartino, Carolina Ramos-Sembrano, Cristina Ramos-Jalasco and Gloria Ramos.[3][4]

Military career

Early career

Ramos went to the United States Military Academy at West Point, and he graduated in 1950. Ramos, along with the Philippines' 20th Battalion Combat Team and the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK), fought in the**Korean War**. He was an Infantry Reconnaissance Platoon Leader.[4] Ramos was one of the heroes of the Battle of Hill Eerie,[6] where he led his platoon to sabotage the enemy in Hill Eerie.[7] He was also present in the Vietnam War as a non-combat civil military engineer and Chief of Staff of the Philippine Civil Action Group (PHILCAG).[4] It is during this assignment where he forged his lifelong friendship with his junior officer Maj. José T. Almonte, who went on to become his National Security Advisor throughout during his administration from 1992 to 1998.

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Wikileaks

In 2011, Wikileaks released a leaked 1994 diplomatic note from the US Embassy in Manila, recounting a private conversation between a diplomat and Joel De Los Santos, a retired Filipino university professor who specialized in Islamic affairs. Mr. De Los Santos alleged that Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi had channeled $200,000 (5 million pesos) to Ramos' 1992 election campaign.[23] Ramos dismissed the claim as "hearsay by itself, and is further based on a string of successive hearsay conversations" and challenged anyone who believed the claim to produce evidence.[24]

Charter Change

During his final years in office, Ramos tried to amend the country's 1987 constitution; a process popularly known to many Filipinos as Charter Change or the so-called "Cha-Cha". Widespread protests led by Corazon Aquino and the Catholic Church stopped him from pushing through with the plan. Political analysts were divided as to whether Ramos really wanted to use Cha-Cha to extend his presidency or only to imbalance his opponents, as the next presidential election neared.[25]

Post-Presidency

Activities

EDSA II

In January 2001, Ramos was instrumental in the success of the so-called second EDSA Revolution that deposed the properly elected Philippine president Joseph Estrada and placed then-Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the presidential seat.[citation needed]

Ramos 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.

Hello Garci Scandal

At the height of the election-rigging scandal in July 2005, Ramos publicly convinced President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo not to resign from office.[citation needed] Ramos, who was also hounded by charges of electoral fraud during the 1992 elections which were never proven in the Supreme Court, 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.

Advocacies

Ramos also unveiled his proposals for constitutional change of the country. Citing the need to be more economically competitive in the midst of globalization and the need to improve governance for all Filipinos, Ramos suggested that government should start the process of Charter Change with a set deadline in 2007 (by which time the new charter and new government would take effect). Ramos supports the transformation of the country's political system from the Philippine presidential-bicameral-system into a unicameral parliament in transition to a federal form.

Ramos is currently representing the Philippines in the ASEAN Eminent Persons Group, tasked to draft the Charter of the Association of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN). He was also a member of numerous international groups and fora, and is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia (also one of the co-founders of BFA) and Co-Chairman of the Global Meeting of the Emerging Markets Forum (EMF). Ramos was heavily recommended for the position of the United Nations envoy to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) in June 2006.

He served as the Carlyle Group Asia Advisor Board Member until the board was disbanded in February 2004. At present, as a private citizen, Ramos is engaged in various private sector advocacies where he plays prominent roles. These include: Chairman, Ramos Peace and Development Foundation; Chairman, Boao Forum for Asia; Trustee, International Crisis Group (ICG); Member, Advisory Group, UN University for Peace; Honorary Director, General Douglas MacArthur Foundation; Founding Member, Policy Advisory Commission, World Intellectual Property Organization (PAC-WIPO); Honorary Member, World Commission on Water for the 21st century; Member, International Advisory Council, Asia House; Patron, Opportunity International (Philippines); Global Advisor, University of Winnipeg; Honorary Chairman, Yuchengco Center, De La Salle University; Member, Advisory Board, Metrobank; Honorary President, Human Development Network (HDN) Philippines; Lifetime Honorary President, Christian Democrats International (CDI); and Chairman Emeritus, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) Party.

Ramos is also a firm backer of the proposed Philippine Reproductive Health bill. During a meet-up with fellow RH bill supporters last May 2011, he urged PresidentBenigno Aquino III to certify the RH bill as urgent, saying it is the "right thing" to do.[26] During his administration, the Department of Health under Juan Flavier launched an intense drive to promote family planning. Asiaweek reported in August 1994 that under Ramos, "family planning funding has quintupled." They also noted that President Ramos "has gone the farthest of any administration in opposing the Church's positions on contraception and abortion."[27] At present, Ramos is listed by the Forum for Family Planning and Development as one of its Eminent Persons.[28] The Forum is a non-governmental organization working to advance "national policies on population management, health, and family welfare."[29]

Ramos is a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today’s national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.