Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reach the rank of five-star general. Rising from second lieutenant to commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Ramos is credited for revitalizing and renewing international confidence in the Philippine economy during his six years in office.
Ramos rose through the ranks in the Philippine military early in his career and became Chief of the Philippine Constabulary and Vice Chief-of-Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the term of President Ferdinand Marcos. During the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, Ramos was hailed as a hero by many Filipinos for his decision to break away from the administration of Marcos, and pledge allegiance and loyalty to the newly established government of President Corazon C. Aquino. Prior to his election as president, Ramos served in the cabinet of President Aquino, first as chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and later as Secretary of National Defense from 1986 to 1991. He was credited with the creation of the Philippine Army's Special Forces and the Philippine National Police Special Action Force. After his retirement, he remained active in politics, serving as advisor to his successors.
Ramos died of COVID-19 Omicron variant at the Makati Medical Center in Makati on July 31, 2022, at the age of 94.
Early life and education
250px|left|thumb|Rented family house of Narciso Ramos and Angela Valdez in Lingayen, where Fidel and [[Leticia Ramos-Shahani were born]]
Fidel Valdez Ramos was born on March 18, 1928, in Lingayen, Pangasinan, and grew up in Asingan during his childhood. His father, Narciso (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. As such, Narciso was the Philippine signatory to the ASEAN declaration forged in Bangkok in 1967, and was a founding member of the Liberal Party. According to Ramos's biography for his presidential inauguration in 1992, Narciso served as one of the leaders of the anti-Japanese guerrilla group Maharlika, which was founded by Ferdinand Marcos. His mother, Angela Valdez (1905–1978), was an educator, woman suffragette, and member of the Valdez clan of Batac, Ilocos Norte, making him a second degree cousin of former president Ferdinand Marcos.
Marriage
left|thumb|Fidel Ramos (left to the second row) along his wife [[Amelita Ramos|Amelita (right to the first row) with his parents]]
Ramos married Amelita Martinez on October 21, 1954, at the Central Church (now known as Central United Methodist Church) in Ermita, Manila. They started as friends while they were classmates at the UP High School and neighbors at Padre Faura Street in Manila. Together, they had five daughters: Angelita Ramos-Jones, Josephine Ramos-Samartino, Carolina Ramos-Sembrano, Cristina Ramos-Jalasco, and Gloria Ramos.
Korean War service
Ramos was a member of the Philippines' 20th Battalion Combat Team of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) that fought in the Korean War. He was an Infantry Reconnaissance Platoon Leader. where he led his platoon to sabotage the enemy in Hill Eerie.
Vietnam War service
Ramos was also in the Vietnam War as a non-combat civil military engineer and Chief of Staff of the Philippine Civic Action Group (PHILCAG). which functioned as the country's national police. He served at this post at the time Ferdinand Marcos imposed Martial Law as a requirement of General Order 323 of Philippine Constabulary Headquarters. Fidel Ramos and Gen. Renato de Villa were the founders of the unit. De Villa tasked Rosendo Ferrer and Sonny Razon to organize a Special Action Force. Subsequently, a training program called the SAF Ranger Course, was used to train the 1st generation of SAF troopers, which numbered 149. Of that number, 26 were commissioned officers while the rest were enlisted personnel recruited from a wide range of PC units such as the defunct PC Brigade, the Long Range Patrol Battalion (LRP), the K-9 Support Company, PC Special Organized Group, the Light Reaction Unit (LRU) of PC METROCOM, the Constabulary Off-shore Action Command (COSAC), and other PC Units.
Combat record
When belittled by the press regarding his combat record, Ramos responded with trademark sarcasm (July 31, 1987):
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and Secretary of National Defense
After Corazon Aquino assumed the Presidency, she appointed Ramos as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (1986–1988), and later Secretary of National Defense as well as Chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (1988–1991),
1992 presidential campaign: EDSA '92
In December 1991, Ramos declared his candidacy for president. However, he lost the nomination of the then-dominant party Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) to House Speaker Ramon Mitra Jr. Days later, he bolted from the LDP and founded his own party, the Partido Lakas Tao (People Power Party), inviting Cebu Governor Emilio Mario Osmeña to be his running mate. The party formed a coalition with the National Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD) of Senator & DFA Secretary Raul Manglapus and the United Muslim Democrats of the Philippines (UMDP) of Ambassador Sanchez Ali, and turned into Lakas–NUCD Ramos and Osmeña, together with Congressman (later House Speaker) Jose de Venecia, campaigned for economic reforms and improved national security and unity.
He won the seven-way race on May 11, 1992, narrowly defeating popular Agrarian Reform Secretary Miriam Defensor Santiago. His running mate, Governor Osmeña, lost to Senator Joseph Estrada as vice president. Despite winning, he garnered only 23.58% of the vote, the lowest plurality in the country's history. The election results were marred by allegations of fraud as Santiago was leading the race for the first five days of counting but became second after a nationwide energy black-out, putting Ramos in first place. International media were already calling Santiago as the president-elect but withdrew their declarations because of the sudden change in positions in the vote tally. Santiago filed an electoral protest, but it was eventually junked by the Supreme Court. The quote, "Miriam won in the elections, but lost in the counting" became popular nationwide.
De los Santos alleged that Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi had channeled $200,000 (5 million pesos) to Ramos' 1992 election campaign. Philippine election laws prohibit accepting contribution from foreigners. Ramos dismissed the claim as "hearsay by itself, and is further based on a string of successive hearsay conversations" and challenged anyone who presumed the claim's veracity to produce evidence.
Presidency (1992–1998)
thumb|right|250px|Ramos taking his oath of office as the 12th [[president of the Philippines on June 30, 1992.]]
At the time of his accession in 1992, he was the first and only Protestant to date to be elected President of the Philippines, which has a majority-Roman Catholic population, and the only Filipino officer in history to have held every rank in the Philippine military from Second Lieutenant to Commander-in-Chief.
The first three years of his administration were characterized by an economic boom, technological development, political stability, and efficient delivery of basic needs to the people. He advocated party platforms as an outline and agenda for governance. He was the first Christian Democrat to be elected in the country, being the founder of Lakas-CMD (Christian-Muslim Democrats Party). He was one of the most influential leaders and the unofficial spokesman of liberal democracy in Asia.
left|thumb|Official portrait, 1995
Domestic policies
Philippines 2000
Ramos' policies were organized around a socio-economic program dubbed "Philippines 2000", which envisioned the Philippines achieving a newly industrialized country status by the year 2000 and beyond.
The five points of the program were:
- Peace and Stability
- Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
- Energy and Power Generation
- Environmental Protection
- Streamlined Bureaucracy
Contrary to expectations as a former military general, Ramos made peace with the country's various armed rebel groups, kickstarting the process by creating a National Unification Commission (NUC) and appointing Haydee Yorac to be its chair.
Upon the recommendation of the NUC, Ramos eventually decided to grant amnesty to the rebel military officers of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) led by Gregorio Honasan and Proceso Maligalig.
Ramos was 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.
Although he battled Communist rebels as a young lieutenant in the 1950s, Ramos signed into law the Republic Act No. 7636, which repealed the Anti-Subversion Law. With its repeal, membership in the once-outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines became legal. It was also during his presidency that the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), which provided a mechanism to monitor human rights abuses in the course of operations was signed between the government and the CPP on 16 March 1998.