PH’s 12th president, Fidel Ramos, passes away
Former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos died last July 31, Sunday at 94 years old. He served as the country’s 12th president and was known as a key figure during the Marcos administration and the subsequent People Power Revolution.
During his administration, from 1992 to 1998, Ramos focused on economic reforms that could address the still-lingering issues that the Philippines suffered from in the aftermath of the Marcos dictatorship.
According to a paper by the International Monetary Fund, published in 2000, Ramos embraced a “comprehensive reform strategy” that opened the economy, reduced macroeconomic imbalances, and addressed structural rigidities, among others.
Meanwhile, a paper published by the World Bank in 2008 said that Ramos’ presidency was most successful in liberalization and deregulation reforms.
The late president also introduced the Philippines 2000, his flagship socio-economic program that sought to help realize the “vision of newly industrialized country’s status by the year 2000.”
Ramos laid out the two components of this plan during his State of the Nation Address in 1993, including the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (1993-1998) which focused on boosting the economy “guided by principles of people empowerment and global excellence,” as well as boosting economic growth by addressing the political, social, and cultural climate in the country.
Additionally, Ramos was responsible for the implementation of several foreign policies — including the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States and the Migrant Workers Act — as well as peace treaties with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
