Apingdaldal
RP'ing The Philippines, RL'ing The Philippines
- Jul 1, 2018
- 1,445
The Commission on Election (COMELEC) has declared the former armed forces Chief of Staff, Fidel Valdez Ramos, the winner in the presidential election in the Philippines on Monday night, besting four (4) other challengers. As of 1 a.m. local time his margin over the second-place finisher, Miriam Defensor Santiago, was about 15 percentage points, and considered as the smallest winning margin since the Philippine independence in 1898.
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 the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK), fought in the Korean War. He was an Infantry Reconnaissance Platoon Leader. Ramos was one of the heroes of the Battle of Hill Eerie, 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 and Chief of Staff of the Philippine Civil Action Group (PHILCAG). Ramos has received several military awards including the Philippine Legion of Honor (1988, 1991), the Distinguished Conduct Star (1991), the Distinguished Service Star (1966, 1967, 1981), Philippine Military Merit Medal (1952), the United States Legion of Merit, the French Legion of Honor, the U.S. Military Academy Distinguished Graduate Award and Legion of Merit (1990). Also during his stint at the Philippine Army, Ramos founded the Philippine Army Special Forces. And then, he was named to the commander of the Army's 3rd Division based in Cebu City, Cebu.
Ramos gained wide popularity during the Corazon Aquino presidency for his trademark sarcastic response to the press when belittled for his combat record (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 non-combat 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 man's 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 man's 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. You're 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 you'd all be here.”
During the election campaigns, Fidel Ramos promised that he will strive to turn the Philippines into a newly industrialized country by FY 2000 with his signature economic platform “Philippines 2000” and his planned charter changes to remove all restrictions to Foreign-Direct Investments hard-corded in the current 1987 Philippine Constitution. He is confident that both Congress and Senate will support his proposed economic reforms in the Constitution. He also vowed to continue modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
He is also the first Filipino Protestant President in a predominantly Roman Catholic country.
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 the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK), fought in the Korean War. He was an Infantry Reconnaissance Platoon Leader. Ramos was one of the heroes of the Battle of Hill Eerie, 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 and Chief of Staff of the Philippine Civil Action Group (PHILCAG). Ramos has received several military awards including the Philippine Legion of Honor (1988, 1991), the Distinguished Conduct Star (1991), the Distinguished Service Star (1966, 1967, 1981), Philippine Military Merit Medal (1952), the United States Legion of Merit, the French Legion of Honor, the U.S. Military Academy Distinguished Graduate Award and Legion of Merit (1990). Also during his stint at the Philippine Army, Ramos founded the Philippine Army Special Forces. And then, he was named to the commander of the Army's 3rd Division based in Cebu City, Cebu.
Ramos gained wide popularity during the Corazon Aquino presidency for his trademark sarcastic response to the press when belittled for his combat record (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 non-combat 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 man's 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 man's 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. You're 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 you'd all be here.”
During the election campaigns, Fidel Ramos promised that he will strive to turn the Philippines into a newly industrialized country by FY 2000 with his signature economic platform “Philippines 2000” and his planned charter changes to remove all restrictions to Foreign-Direct Investments hard-corded in the current 1987 Philippine Constitution. He is confident that both Congress and Senate will support his proposed economic reforms in the Constitution. He also vowed to continue modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
He is also the first Filipino Protestant President in a predominantly Roman Catholic country.