What do you do when you have been an accomplished soldier and an officer, an EDSA national hero and a president of the Philippines?
Relax? Playing golf or enjoy the fruits of your retirement and write your memoirs?
What do you do when you’re going 80 years old, when most people of that age can hardly walk, hear or even recall the names of their sons or daughters?
Not so with Fidel V. Ramos, known as simply Eddie but to us journalists “Tabako “referring to his cigar-chomping persona that has been splashed almost in every newspapers, television and other media even up to this very days as former chief executive. He is for all intents and purposes, still a newsmaker and as well as decision maker and most importantly the stabilizing factor in the present graft and scandal-ridden present administration.
Even since he left the presidential palace in 1998, Mr. Ramos has been very busy, quite busy, in fact, he serves in as many as 25 or so government and non-governmental international organizations that takes him to different parts of the globe, setting a dizzying pace, defying the ravages of time and age.
Ramos is presently the government’s ambassador extraordinaire raking up many investments for the Philippines. This job, mind you, never entailed any single cent from the government coffers.
Last Oct.21, he breezed into town with wife Mrs. Ming Ramos on a multi-city Canadian
trip to drum up support for Gawad-Kalinga , that phenomenal social housing program for the poor that is gaining groundswell of support not only in the Philippines but worldwide.
Expecting a slower-down version of “El Tabako “, we were later surprised to find the very same vintage and “Classic Eddie “ still hale and hearty. He still keeps his regimen of early morning jog as he does many years ago.
In his four days here in Toronto, he had helped raised an estimated $100,000 for Gawad Kalinga notwithstanding his hectic schedule that included a trip to Waterloo on the first day, a luncheon meeting, a press conference with the Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO)that took almost all night, a community dialogue next day, another meeting, a golf tournament and a gala event plus a meeting with Phil-Canadian business men, the PCCT.
The former chief executive is now chairman of the Ramos Peace and Development Foundation (RPDEV) whose goal is to promote peace and development in the Philippines and in the Asia-pacific region.
Speaking on a number of issues and other developments, here are the highlights and sidelights of the Ramos visit:
-Overseas Filipinos should give back something to their motherland like contributing to the Gawad Kalinga
-Urged Malacanang Palace (Pres.Gloria M. Arroyo) and the opposition to “scale their Mount Everest “, forget politics and unite for the sake of country.. He was referring to a member of his party Art Valdez, his former undersecretary of Transportation who led the historic team of Filipino climbers ever to conquer Mt. Everest in May 2007 and another team of Women climbers in 2008.
-The Philippines can survive the present worldwide economic crisis because of economic policies in place since 1993 wherein reforms have taken roots vis-a vis the Philippine banking system specially the revamp of the Central Banking system
-Ramos assumed the position of GK advocate as overseas representative
-Tony Meloto, founder of GK joined Ramos and Ricky Cuenca, GK and ANCOP (Answering the call of the poor)lead man for North America at the fund-raising gala wherein they received pledges from various individuals and institutions for GK.
Couple Don and Minda Salter for instance handed a cheque for $25,000 and bought a Ramos book auctioned at $1,000.
The CEO of Salad Master, Keith Peterson, accompanied by Pidoy Pacis pledged 100 houses to be built in Pototan, Iloilo, and a place that has been destroyed by a strong typhoon months ago.
-Encouraged the Pilipino- Canadian Chamber of Commerce of Toronto (PCCT)to explore other bigger markets like China instead of concentrating on the Philippines
-helped raised an additional $50,000 contribution from the BOAO Forum of China
– Ramos and his wife, Amelita “Ming “Ramos celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary during the Oct.22 PPCO press conference. Chat Bautista of the Studio Six organization provided a cake
-Ramos saw familiar faces at the PPCO press con, making the day as a reunion among
reporters who covered him for 18 or so years. That includes PPCO director Tony Sicat who served as a media adviser in Camp Crame, Nestor Arellano (formerly of Malaya) and this writer. The former president threatened us “akala ninyo makakalusot kayo sa akin (even here in Canada), tomorrow, we’ll have jogging “, recalling those times in Mindanao and other parts of the country where he used to wake up media men to join him in jogging sessions at an unholy hour of 4:00am when most of us were just beginning to
have our sleep.
From that fateful day in February 1986 up to the time of his retirement as president, there has never been an idle moment on this irrepressible and indefatigable statesman.
He has saved one president, Mrs. Cory Aquino from being overthrown by numerous coups and rescued an alleged corrupt and cheating president Arroyo from fleeing the country. It was this intervention, many believed that Ramos had averted a bloody civil war . El Tabako, therefore remains a stabilizing force, at the moment for this scandal-tainted Arroyo presidency.
It is also widely believed that Ramos, along with his trusted intelligence man .Gen. Jose
“Joe Al “ Almonte had played a major role in the EDSA 2 ouster of President Joseph ‘Erap “ Estrada.