ECONOMIC reforms
instituted during the Ramos
administration paved the way
for the government to embrace
as a development vision the
improvement of quality of life
of every Filipino.
Budget and Management
Secretary Amenah
Pangandama, in a statement on
the passing of former President
Fidel V. Ramos on July 31,
said it is during the Ramos
government that the country
became known as the “tiger cub
economy in Asia.”
“We remember President
Ramos as a strong and
decisive leader under whose
administration government
budgeting took on the mission
of becoming an instrument for
economic growth. In 1992, his
administration’s Medium-Term
Philippine Development Plan
(MTPDP) made improving the
quality of life of every Filipino
its development vision,” she
said.
Ramos, 94, served as the
country’s 12th chief executive
from 1992-1998.
Pangandaman said the
Department of Budget and
Management (DBM) will honor
the late President’s legacy “by
continuing to work hard to
achieve our common dream of a
better nation for all.”
“May the Lord bless His
diligent servant who worked
hard for the upliftment of the
Filipino people,” she added.
In a separate statement,
Socioeconomic Planning
Secretary Arsenio Balisacan
also extended his condolences
to Ramos family.
“While in the academe,
I saw fi rsthand and closely
followed how his economic
and social reform agenda,
which centered on opening
the economy and people
empowerment, paved the way
to foundational economic
transformation. He provided
the country with much-needed
stability against threats from
within,” he said.
Balisacan said Ramos was
also a visionary, noting that
“his foresight and steadfastness
enabled the Philippines to
weather the 1997 Asian
Financial Crisis and be among
the continent’s “Tiger Cub
Economies.””
“We will continue to honor
and build on his legacy as we
pursue the country’s long-term
vision of a matatag (stable),
maginhawa (convenient), and
panatag na buhay (secure life)
for every Filipino,” he added.
Ramos graduated from the
United States Military Academy
at West Point in 1950.
Prior to becoming one
of the country’s Presidents,
Ramos served as the Chiefof-
Staff of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP) from
1986-1988 and the Secretary of
National Defense from 1988-
1991, both of which were during
the fi rst Aquino administration.
(PNA)
