Narciso Ramos

The Honorable
Narciso R. Ramos
The Honorable Narciso R. Ramos
13th Secretary of Foreign Affairs
	In office; December 30, 1965 – 1968
President	Ferdinand Marcos
Preceded by	Mauro Mendez
Succeeded by	Carlos P. Romulo
Ambassador of the Philippines to Taipei
	In office; 1956–1965
President	Ramon Magsaysay; Carlos P. Garcia; Diosdado Macapagal
Ambassador of the Philippines to India
	In office; 1952–1956
President	Elpidio Quirino; Ramon Magsaysay
Minister to the Philippine Legation in Buenos Aires
	In office; 1949–1952
President	Elpidio Quirino
Member of the Philippine National Assembly from Pangasinan's 5th District
	In office; June 11, 1945 – July 15, 1946
Preceded by	District recreated
Succeeded by	Cipriano Allas
Member of the National Assembly from Pangasinan's 5th District
	Member of the Philippine House of Representatives (1934–1935)
	In office; 1934 – December 30, 1941
Preceded by	Juan Millán
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	Narciso Rueca Ramos; November 11, 1900; Asingan, Pangasinan, Philippine Islands
Died	February 3, 1986 (aged 85); Manila, Philippines
Resting place	Manila Memorial Park, Parañaque, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Political party	Liberal
Other political; affiliations	Nacionalista
Spouse(s)	Angela Valdez (m. 1926; died 1978); Alfonsita Lucero
Children	3, including Fidel and Leticia
Alma mater	University of the Philippines Manila (no degree); National University (LL.B.)
Occupation	Journalist; lawyer; assemblyman; ambassador;
Known for	Jun, N.R.

Narciso Rueca Ramos (Spanish: [naɾˈsiso ra.mos]; November 11, 1900 – February 3, 1986) was a Filipino journalist, lawyer, assemblyman and ambassador. He was the father of former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos and Philippine Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani.

Early life and education

Born to Plácido Ramos (né Apelido) y Tabadero and Ramona Rueca y Bugayong in Asingan, Pangasinan on November 11, 1900, Narciso R. Ramos was a journalist, lawyer, assemblyman and ambassador. He was baptized thirteen days later in the same municipality.

He attended the Asingan Elementary School and the Manila High School, and graduated from the latter in 1919. After pursuing journalism at the College of Liberal Arts of the University of the Philippines from 1920 to 1922, he studied law at National University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1924. In the same year, he took and passed the bar examinations.

Political career

As a member of the official Philippine delegation, he participated in the International Conference of Students that convened in Peking, China in April 1922. From 1924 to 1934, before joining national politics, Ramos practiced law in his home province and in Manila. He was recognized as a pioneer in the field of law in Pangasinan. Despite the prestige and status he had gained as a lawyer, he still considered it his duty to defend the poor and the oppressed.

In 1934, he was elected representative of Pangasinan's 5th District to the 10th Philippine Legislature. In 1941, due undoubtedly to his brilliant performance as a legislator and unstinting service to his constituents, he was reelected as a congressman. During the dark days of the Japanese occupation, he opted to risk his life by joining the Filipino resistance fighters, rather than collaborate with the enemy.

In 1946, the year the Philippines regained its independence, Ramos, by then already an eminent national figure, was called upon by President Roxas along with Ambassador Joaquin Elizalde to establish the country's foreign service and organize the first Philippine embassy in Washington, D.C. Thus began his long and distinguished career in Foreign Service.

Ramos prepared the first batch of Filipino consuls in America. While performing his duties as Philippine minister counselor in Washington, he also assisted in forming the basic framework of the country's Foreign Service rules. Among his pioneering achievements was the sending of several Philippine delegations to socialist and Latin American countries.

Ramos served as Minister to the Philippine Legation in Buenos Aires from 1949 to 1952. From 1952 to 1956, during the early days of the Non-Aligned Movement, he was the Philippine envoy to India, having established the first Philippine mission in New Delhi. Later, in 1956, through his initiative as chief of mission, another embassy was set up in Taipei, where he served until 1965. In 1965, he was appointed foreign affairs secretary by President Ferdinand Marcos. He served in that capacity until 1968. During this period, he achieved several milestones in his career and in the Philippines' international relations.

On August 8, 1967, he joined other Southeast Asian leaders in Bangkok in founding the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and in signing the ASEAN Declaration. Through the formation of ties with socialist countries, he affirmed his beliefs in a neutral foreign policy, notwithstanding his anti-Communist principles. The bonds he formed then have stayed firm despite the vicissitudes wrought by time on the fragile world of international relations.

Also, on September 16, 1966, he endeavored to remold Philippine friendship with the United States by signing the Ramos-Rusk Agreement, which decreased the tenure of the RP-US military bases agreement of 1947, originally 99 years, to only 25 more years and allowed the crucial changes in the Military Bases Accord on January 7, 1979. Thus, the leases expired in 1991, ahead of the original 2046 date.^[2] He was also instrumental in reestablishing the Asia Pacific Council, or ASPAC.

Ramos left government service on December 31, 1968. During his retirement, however, he carried on tirelessly with his various civic, social and economic projects. In 1982, he was asked once more to serve in the government, as director of the Asian Exchange Center in Taipei, Taiwan (semi-official Ambassador to Taiwan). He was already 82 then, but he stayed on the job for three years. He was a public servant who have served under eight Philippine presidents from Manuel L. Quezon to Ferdinand E. Marcos. A true patriot, too, he believed that nationalism and modernization, through which the country could gain true independence and self-reliance, were the key to national progress. Ramos received the Legion of Honor award (rank of commander) and the Bronze Medal of Valor for his services as a guerrilla in the Second World War. Later, in recognition of his achievements in the Foreign Service, he was given the Order of Sikatuna Award (rank of datu).

Personal life

Family

By his first wife, Angela Valdez, he had three children:

Fidel V. Ramos (1928–2022), 12th Philippine President, 1992–1998
Leticia Ramos-Shahani (1929–2017), two-term Senator, 1987–1998
Gloria Ramos-da Rodda (1935–2019), a consul in the U.S.

When Angela died in 1978, Ramos married Alfonsita Lucero.

Death

Ramos died on February 3, 1986^[3] due to a stroke.

Legacy

Narciso Ramos Sports Complex and Civic Center (Lingayen, Pangasinan)

These buildings are named after him:

Narciso Ramos Sports Complex (Lingayen, Pangasinan)
Narciso Ramos Sports & Civic Center (Lingayen, Pangasinan)
Narciso Ramos Gym (Lingayen, Pangasinan)
Narciso R. Ramos Elementary School (Asingan, Pangasinan)
Narciso Ramos Highway (Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte)

References

^ "Our Heritage and the Departed: A Cemeteries Tour". Presidential Museum & Library (Philippines). Retrieved September 27, 2015.
^ Andrew Yeo, Activists, Alliances, and Anti-U.S. Base Protests (Cambridge University Press, 2011) pp37-38
^ "Narciso Ramos Dies at 86; Served in Philippine Cabinet". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 4, 1986. Retrieved February 24, 2017.