Statement of Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto

On the Passing of President Fidel V. Ramos

31 July 2022

President Ramos was brave in war, industrious in work, visionary in public service, and helpful to his fellowmen.

He was the Steady Eddie who led by infectious and inspiring example, from the trenches of Korea, to the corridors of Malacanang.

Whether in the battlefield or in the bureaucracy, he was daring in deeds and bold in thinking. 

He was driven by this Protestant-Ilocano-West Point work ethic which ingrained in him the habit of rising before dawn and toiling ‘til midnight. 

In all the offices he held, he was the first man in and the last man out of the office.

He became president in 1992 when the country was reeling from the devastation of Pinatubo and the Baguio earthquake, when protected interests crushed competition and denigrated public service, when civil strife set back growth.

In many places, when you open the taps, there was no water. You try to catch a plane, there was none. You lift the phone, you get a busy signal. You switch on the lights, there was no power.

FVR ended the people’s misery by dismantling the protections which infantilized industries, injected efficiency by bringing in competition, and levelled the playing field.

And most admirable is that while he was trained as a soldier, and proficient in the art of war, he was a relentless peacemaker, who used diplomacy in forging peace deals with anti-government forces. 

FVR was our ninong sa kasal. Vi and I will miss him as do a nation and a people to whom he gave his all and his very best.