Fidel V.

Ramos
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Fidel V. Ramos

His Excellency

12th President of the Philippines

2nd President of the Fifth Republic

In office June 30, 1992 June 30, 1998 Vice Joseph Estrada President Preceded by Corazon Aquino Succeeded by Joseph Estrada Secretary of National Defense of the Philippines In office January 22, 1988 July 18, 1991 President Corazon Aquino Preceded by Rafael Ileto Succeeded by Renato de Villa Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines In office 19861988 Preceded by Fabian Ver Succeeded by Renato de Villa Chief of the Philippine Constabulary In office 19801986

Preceded by Fabian Ver Succeeded by Cesar Nazareno Personal details March 18, 1928 (1928-03-18) (age 83) Born Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines Political Lakas-Kampi-CMD (2009present) party Other Lakas-CMD (19912009) political LDP (1991) affiliations Spouse(s) Amelita Martinez Angelita Ramos-Jones Josephine Ramos-Samartino Children Carolina Ramos-Sembrano Cristina Ramos-Jalasco Gloria Ramos United States Military Academy Ateneo de Manila University Mapa Institute of Technology University of the Philippines High School Alma mater Silliman University[1] National Defense College of the Philippines University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Soldier Occupation Civil engineer United Church of Christ in the Religion Philippines Signature Official website Office of the PresidentArchived Military service Nickname(s) Eddie, FVR Website Republic of the Philippines Years of 1951 to 1988 service Rank Commands Platoon Leader, 2nd Battalion Combat Team (BCT), Counter-Insurgency against the Communist Hukbalahap, 1951 Allegiance

Infantry Company Commander, 16th BCT, Counter-Insurgency against the Communist Hukbalahap, 1951 Platoon Leader, 20th BCT, Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea, United Nations Command (PEFTOK-UNC), Korean War, 19511952 Duty, Personnel Research Group, General Headquarters, Armed Forces of the Philippines, 19521954 Senior Aide de Camp to Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines, 19581960 Associate Infantry Company Officer at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 1960 Founder and Commanding Officer of the elite Special Forces of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 19621965 Chief of Staff of the Philippine Military Contingent-Philippine Civil Action Group to Vietnam (AFPPHILCAG), Vietnam War, 19651968 Presidential Assistant on Military Affairs, 19681969 Commander, 3rd Infantry Brigade Philippine Army, 1970 Chief of the Philippine Constabulary, 19701986 Command and General Staff of the Philippine Army, 1985 Acting Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 19841985 Vice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 19851986 Military Reformist leader during the People Power Revolution, 1986 Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 19861988 Secretary of National Defense, 1988 1991 Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 19921998 Hukbalahap Campaign Korean War, 19511952 (Hero of the Battles/wars Battle of Hill Eerie, May 1952) Vietnam War, 1965 to 1968 Battle of Marawi, 1972 Awards Philippine Legion of Honor

Commander, Legion of Merit Military Merit Medal United Nations Service Medal Vietnam Service Medal Lgion d'honneur Distinguished Conduct Star (Philippines) United States Military Academy Distinguished Award Korean Service Medal Order of Dato Laila Utama (Brunei) Commander, Order of Dharma Pratana (Indonesia) Grand Order of Mugunghwa Collar, Order of Civil Merit Honorary Knight Grand Cross, Order of Saint Michael and Saint George Collar, Order of Isabella the Catholic[2] Order of the Crown of Malaysia Knight Grand Cordon, Order of the White Elephant Order of Nishan-I-Pakistan Collar, Order of Carlos III Collar, Order of the Merit of Chile Fidel "Eddie" Valdez Ramos (born March 18, 1928), popularly known as FVR, 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 Corazon Aquino first as chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and, later on, as Secretary of National Defense from 1986 to 1991. During the historic 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, Ramos upon the invitation of then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, was hailed as a hero even though he was not part of the plan by many Filipinos for his decision to break away from the administration of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and pledge allegiance and loyalty to the newly established revolutionary government of President Aquino, following the downfall of Marcos from power in February 1986. Previously, he was the AFP vice chief-of-staff, chief of PC/INP under President Marcos. 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 international magazines and observers as Asia's Next Economic Tiger.

However, the momentum in the economic gains made under the Ramos 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 is the only Filipino to receive an honorary British Knighthood from the United Kingdom, the GCMG or the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George. This was bestowed to him by Queen Elizabeth II in 1995 for services to politics and government. To date, Ramos is the first and only non-Catholic President of the Philippines. He belongs to the Protestant United Church of Christ in the Philippines.

Early life and education

Fidel Ramos was born on March 18, 1928 in Lingayen, Pangasinan. His father, Narciso Ramos (19001986), was a lawyer, 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 (19051977), 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. Ramos received secondary education at the Centro Escolar University in Manila. After he went to America, he graduated from the United States Military Academy with Bachelor of Science and University of Illinois, with masters 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 (MBA) from the Ateneo de Manila University.

Military careers
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 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,[3] where he led his platoon to sabotage the enemy in Hill Eerie.[4] He was also present in the Vietnam War as a non-combat civil military engineer and commanding officer of the Philippine Civil Action Group (PHILCAG). It is during this assignment where he forged his lifelong friendship with his junior officer Maj. Jose T. Almonte, who went on to become his National Security Advisor throughout during his administration from 1992 to 1998. Ramos has received several military awards including the Philippine Legion of Honor, the Distinguished Conduct Star, Philippine Military Merit Medal, the United States Legion of Merit, the French Legion of Honor and the U.S. Military Academy Distinguished Graduate Award. Headed the Philippine Constabulary and Integrated National Police on 1972 when then President Ferdinand Marcos, who was elected on 1965 imposed martial law to stay in power and to establish a dictatorship in the country, Ramos, in his capacity, was responsible for the arrest of political personalities, media and activists etc., but he made efforts in order for them to be welltreated while in detention, despite abuses on some of them by few of his subordinates. Nine years later, martial law would be lifted on 1981 but Ramos' second cousin still retains strong absolute powers in governing the Philippines.

Due to his accomplishments, Ramos became one of the candidates to become the new chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on 1981, to replace the retiring General Romeo Espino. However, Marcos bypassed him and instead, appointed his trusted military officer and former driver, General Fabian Ver into the top military post. Instead, Ramos was named to be the vice-chief of staff of the AFP on 1982, thus he became the military's second most powerful official after Ver. When Ver was implicated in the assassination of Former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. who is also known as Ninoy on 1983, Ramos became the acting AFP chief of staff for a short time only because on 1985, Ver was reinstated after he was acquitted by the court on the charges against him with regards to the assassination of the Marcos regime's chief political enemy and renowned opposition leader. On February 22, 1986, he alongside then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile protested the alleged fraud committed by Marcos in the country's snap presidential elections and therefore, withdrew their support from him and staged a non-violent People Power Revolution to overthrow him. The duo also declared their support to Corazon Aquino, the wife of the late Ninoy and Marcos' main election rival. On February 25, the revolution reached its peak and conclusion when Marcos, along with his family, friends and some supporters fled the country into exile in the state of Hawaii on the United States, thus ending the 20-year Marcos military dictatorship and when Aquino took her oath as the new but first woman president of the Philippines.
Combat record

When belittled by the press regarding his combat record, Ramos responded with trademark sarcasm (July 31, 1987): I fought the communists as part of the battalion combat teams, I went up the ladder. Battalion staff officer. Company commander. Task Force commander. Special Forces group commander. Brigade commander. All in different periods in our country. Huk campaign. Korean War campaign. The Vietnam War, and I was the head of the advance party of the PHILCAG (Philippine Civil Action Group to Vietnam) that went to a tiny province at the Cambodian border the so-called Alligator Jaw War Zone Z where even Max Soliven said The Viet-Cong will eat us up. Of course, we were physically there as non-combat troops. But you try to be a noncombat troop in a combat area that is the toughest kind of assignment. Korea as a platoon leader. Recon leader. What is the job of a recon leader? To recon the front line no mans land. And what did we do? I had to assault a fortified position of the Chinese communists and wiped them out. And what is this Special Forces group that we commanded in the Army '62'65? That was the only remaining combat unit in the Philippine Army. The rest were training in a division set-up. We were in Luzon. We were in Sulu. And then, during the previous regime, Marawi incident. Who was sent there? Ramos. We defended the camp, being besieged by 400 rebels. So next time, look at the mans record, don't just write and write. You said, no combat experience, no combat experience. Look around you who comes from the platoon, who rose to battalion staff, company commander, group commander, which is like a battalion, brigade commander, here and abroad. Abroad, I never had an abroad assignment that was not combat. NO SOFT JOBS FOR RAMOS. Thirty-seven years in the Armed Forces. REMEMBER THAT.

Youre only writing about the fringe, but do not allow yourself to destroy the armed forces by those guys. You write about the majority of the Armed Forces who are on the job. That's why we're here enjoying our freedom, ladies and gentlemen. You are here. If the majority of the Armed Forces did not do their job, I doubt very much if youd all be here.[5]
[edit] Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and Secretary of National Defense

After Aquino assumed the Presidency, she appointed Ramos Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and later Secretary of National Defense. During this time, Ramos personally handled the military operations that crushed nine coup attempts against the Aquino government. During Ramos' presidency, the National Unification Commission was created, and its chairman Haydee Yorac, together with Ramos, recommended to President Aquino to grant amnesty to the rebel military officers of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) led by Col. Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan.

1992 Presidential Election

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 and did not respect LDP and cried foul and founded the Partido Lakas Tao (People Power Party), inviting Cebu Governor Emilio Mario Osmea as his Vice President. The party formed a coalition with the National Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD) of Senator Raul Manglapus and the United Muslim Democrats of the Philippines (UMDP) of Ambassador Sanchez Ali. Ramos and Osmea, 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 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 Osmea, lost to Senator Joseph Estrada as Vice President

Presidency
Power crisis

The Philippines then was experiencing widespread brownouts due to huge demand for electricity and antiquity of power plants, the abolishment of the Department of Energy and discontinuation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant during the Aquino administration. During his State of the Nation address on July 27, 1992, he requested that the Congress enact a law that would create an Energy Department that would plan and manage the Philippines' energy demands. Congress not only created an Energy Department but gave him special emergency 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. Ramos issued supply contracts that guaranteed the government would buy whatever power the IPPs produced under the contract in U.S. dollars to entice investments in power plants. This became a problem during the East Asian Financial Crisis when the demand for electricity contracted and the Philippine peso lost half of its value.

The country was considered risky by investors due to previous coup attempts by military adventurists led by Gregorio Honasan, and experienced brownouts at an almost daily basis lasting 412 hours during the term of President Aquino. The low supply of power and perceived instability had previously held back investments and modernization in the country. Under Ramos, the Philippines was a pioneer in the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme where private investors are invited to build 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.
[edit] 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-traveled Philippine President compared to his predecessors 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 (APEC) Leaders' Summit in the Philippines on November 1996. Under his administration, the Philippines enjoyed economic growth and stability. The Philippine Stock Exchange in the mid-1990s was one of the best in the world and his visions of 'Philippines 2000' that led the country into a newly industrialized country in the world and the "Tiger Cub Economy in Asia".[7] Philippines 2000 Five-Point Program:
Peace and Stability Economic Growth and Sustainable Development Energy and Power Generation Environmental Protection Streamlined Bureaucracy

[edit] Death penalty Main article: Capital punishment in the Philippines

While campaigning for the presidency, Fidel Ramos declared his support for reinstating the death penalty. Capital punishment was abolished for all crimes in 1987, making the Philippines the first Asian country to do so. In 1996 Ramos signed a bill that returned capital punishment with the electric chair (method used from 1923 to 1976, making Philippines the only country to do so outside U.S.) "until the gas chamber could be installed".[8] However, no one was electrocuted nor gassed, because the previously used chair was destroyed earlier and the Philippines adopted the lethal injection. Some people were put to death by this means, until the death penalty was abolished again in 2006.
[edit] Peace with separatists

Ramos, a military general himself, made peace with the rebel panels. He 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 made a bold move when he signed into law Republic Act 7636, which repealed the Anti-Subversion Law. With its repeal, membership in the once-outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines became legal.[9]
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 Peoples 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.
[edit] 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 Contemplacin was hanged in Singapore. His last minute effort to negotiate with Singapore President Ong Teng Cheong and 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 to rescue his sagging popularity. The commission was led by retired justice Emilio Gancayco. As also recommended by the Gancayco Commission, Ramos 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 Contemplacin case, Ramos immediately ordered UAE Ambassador Roy Seeres 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 Goh Chok Tong during the sidelines of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in New York City.
[edit] Asian Financial Crisis Main article: Asian Financial Crisis

The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which started in Thailand, was a major blow to the Ramos administration. The economy was hit by currency devaluation.[10] The same was true for the Thai baht, Malaysia ringgit and Indonesia rupiah. Growth fell to about 0.6% in 1998 from 5.2% in 1997, but recovered to 3.4% by 1999. It also resulted to the shut down of some businesses, a decline in importation, rise unemployment rate and unstable financial sector.
[edit] Controversies Main article: Presidency_of_Fidel_V._Ramos#Controversies

[edit] 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.[11]

[edit] Post-Presidency
[edit] Activities [edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 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. He 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 is a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to promote good governance around the world.[12] 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 meetup with fellow RH bill supporters last May 2011, he urged President Benigno Aquino III to certify the RH bill as urgent, saying it is the "right thing" to do.[13] 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."[14] At present, Ramos is listed by the Forum for Family Planning and Development as one of its Eminent Persons.[15] The Forum is a non-governmental organization working to advance "national policies on population management, health, and family welfare."[16]
Ramos Peace and Development Foundation

He founded the Ramos Foundation for Peace and Development (RPDEV) with offices located in the Urban Bank Building (now ExportBank Plaza). The Ramos Peace and Development Foundation, Inc. (RPDEV) is a non-partisan, nonprofit, non-stock organization dedicated to the promotion of peace and development in the Philippines and in the larger Asia-Pacific region. RPDEV supports Philippine national interests and people empowerment. Operating as a network of individuals and institutions inside and outside the country, it will serve as a catalyst of constructive change, a medium for fostering unity, stability and progress, and a force for mutual understanding.