Lingayen Mourns Illustrious Son’s FVR

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – The Philippines flag is in a half-mast as the residents of this capital town and the birthplace of the late President Fidel Valdez Ramos mourn his death.

“Pagdating ko dito sa munisipyo during our flag raising ceremony at 7 o’clock we raised the flag at its fullest and after the pambansang awit we lowered in a very solemn manner ang national flag to half mast,” Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil said yesterday in a radio interview.

TWELFTH PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES Fidel Valdez Ramos (extreme left, photo) and Lingayen Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil (extreme right) pose for posterity in a social function the duo attended. Ramos died of multiple-organic failure in July 31 this year. Both the President and the Mayor are retired police generals.  Photo is internet grabbed

Ramos who was the 12^th President of the Republic joined his Creator last July 31. He is affectionately called by his constituents as FVR - from the abbreviation of his full names.

Bataoil – who became Ramos subordinate when he was the country’s chief of staff - visited early on that fateful day the Lingayen Central School where the late president attended grades 1 to 7.

“Pinicturan namin iyong metal inscription historical marker pinost natin sa Facebook para malaman ng taong bayan: Lingayen is in the forefront in the life of the 12^th President of the Republic”.

The second - term Bataoil said that the late President has his ancestral house that is preserved by the National Historical Commission. The illustrious family, he added, used to stay in the abode when the young Ramos studied in the public elementary school while his parents taught here.

His father was a lawyer whose law office is in this capital town.

 Ramos began his secondary education at the University of the Philippines High School in the City of Manila and continued it at the Mapúa Institute of Technology. He graduated in high school from the Centro Escolar University Integrated School in 1945 Afterwards, he went to the United States for an appointment to the United States Military Academy, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Military Engineering degree in 1950. He also earned his master's degree in civil engineering at the University of Illinois and later took Civil Engineering Board Exam in 1953 where he placed No. 8 in the country.

 “He is my idol. I followed his footsteps I became a lieutenant after I graduated from PMA (Philippine Military Academy),” the former Congressman said about Ramos who became the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary and later Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Because of his awe with Ramos, Bataoil volunteered to be assigned at the office of the personnel and later as the chief of training in the general headquarter at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“Nakita ko kung papaano siya manungkulan in his very professional and dignified manner. From then on in my life as a professional officer ng public servant ay nandiyan pa rin iyong bahid na pagsunod sa kind of leadership (niya),” the Mayor, who retired as a three-star police general, described the former President when he was alive.

During the presidential stint of Ramos in 1992 to 1998 he vigorously jacked up the economy of the Philippines dubbed as the Sick Man of Asia by respected foreign news outfits.

Before attaining the significant economic growth of the country, he fostered first a national reconciliation that led to major peace agreements with Muslim separatists, communist insurgents and military rebels. These actuations renewed investor confidence in the Philippine economy.

 He then pushed for the deregulation of key industries and the liberalization of the economy like telecommunication and airlines. Ramos encouraged the privatization of public entities to include the modernization of public infrastructure like power plants through the expanded Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law.

 In years 1993-1997, the Philippine economy recovered dramatically. Gross National Product averaged 5 percent annually, the total inflow of foreign exchange into the country outpaced that of the combined periods of rule of both Presidents Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. and Corazon C. Aquino, and the average income of the Filipino family grew more during Ramos’ Administration than in the preceding two decades.

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