Fidel V. Ramos
| Born: | March 18, 1928 |
|---|---|
| In Office: | June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998 |
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. He was the first and to date, the only non-Roman Catholic president of the Philippines. 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. The first half of 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.
Fidel 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 and was one of the founding fathers of the Liberal Party. 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 a second degree cousin to Ferdinand Marcos. He took his elementary education in Lingayen and secondary education at the University of the Philippines Integrated School and Centro Escolar University Integrated School. In 1946, Ramos, barely months after enrolling in the Philippines' National University, joined the Philippine Military Academy as cadet and won a government scholarship to the United States Military Academy in West Point. 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. He is a licensed civil engineer in the Philippines, passing the board exams in 1953 and finishing in the top 10. In 1960, he topped Special Forces-Psy Operations-Airborne course at the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning. Ramos also holds a Master's Degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines and a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) from the Ateneo de Manila University.
In his military career, Ramos rose from 2nd Lieutenant infantry platoon leader in the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (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 instrumental in founding the Philippine Army Special Forces, an elite paratroop unit skilled in community development as well as fighting communist insurgents. Ramos, along with the Philippines' 20th Battalion Combat Team and his fellow West Point graduates of the 1950s, fought in the Korean War. Ramos was one of the heroes of the Battle of Hill Eerie[1], where he led his platoon to sabotage the enemy in Hill Eerie. He was also present in the Vietnam War as a non-combat civil military 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. Ramos, together with Juan Ponce Enrile, the secretary of Defense, changed allegiance and 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.
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, Jr.. 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 23.58% 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.
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. The first few years of his administration (1992-1995) were 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.
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 desire to perpetuate himself in power. He served as the 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 placed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the presidential seat. Arroyo repaid Ramos by appointing him 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 the need to be more economically competitive, 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 will 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.