Reso honoring ‘decorated soldier, statesman’ Ramos filed in Senate

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Monday filed a resolution expressing the Senate's condolences on the passing of the late former President Fidel V. Ramos.

Under proposed Senate Resolution 72, Zubiri honored Ramos as a "gallant, dutiful, and decorated soldier" who had fought for the country during the Korean War in 1952 and held several duties in the Philippine military prior to his appointment as Presidential Assistant on Military Affairs in 1969.

The Senate chief also acknowledged the key programs of Ramos during his time as president from 1992 to 1998.

"Fidel Valdez Ramos’s administration is known for the program, Philippines 2000, which envisioned the country to be newly industrialized by the year 2000, for instituting economic reforms which drove investments in the country to surge, and for navigating the Philippine economy during the 1997 East Asia Financial Crisis steering our country’s recovery efforts and turning the Sick Man of Asia into Asia’s Next Tiger Economy," Zubiri said in his resolution.

Zubiri also credited Ramos for leading the signing of a peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996, ending the 25-year strife that claimed the lives of thousands of Filipinos.

The resolution also mentioned the late former president's role in bringing the issue of the Spratlys to the world’s attention.

"Even after his retirement from politics, he continued to mobilize the citizenry and pushed for best practices in unity, solidarity and teamwork in nation-building, and continued to interact with world leaders in various fora and platforms," Zubiri said.

"The passing away of a brilliant military man, politician, and statesman is a great loss to the nation."

On Sunday, Ramos' family announced the passing of the former president. — Hana Bordey/RSJ, GMA News