Speaker Martin G. Romualdez pays his last respects to former President Fidel Valdez Ramos at Heritage Park in Taguig City on Thursday morning. (Photo from Speaker Romualdez’ office)
MANILA, Philippines — Past and present officials of the Philippine government have visited the wake of former president Fidel V. Ramos to pay their last respects to the the former Chief Executive who passed away on Sunday.
Photos sent in by House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’s office show the official praying before the urn bearing the cremated remains of Ramos during the public viewing on Thursday.
Romualdez also wrote a message on the guestbook, saying, “We mourn the loss of a great leader of our nation who we will be forever indebted for his public service.”
(Photos from Speaker Romualdez’ office)
Aside from Romualdez, other personalities who visited the ex-president’s wake included former vice president Leni Robredo, who got the support of Ramos for her 2022 presidential bid.
Officers from Robredo’s Angat Buhay foundation confirmed that the former vice president also paid her respects to the late former president, who is being credited for reviving the economy of the country during the late 1990s.
Ramos’ demise was announced by state television PTV-4 and was subsequently confirmed by his family last July 31, sending the country into a mourning period.
The former president was a celebrated military official, politician, and a key figure in the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the regime of his cousin, former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Marcos Sr. is the father of the incumbent Chief Executive, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
The current president appeared to have sent in wreaths honoring the late leader.
During the bloodless revolution, Ramos, along with former Defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile turned away from Marcos’ rule, establishing a band of rebels in Camp Aguinaldo which was protected by seas of people marching into the area.
Aside from resuscitating the economy, a highlight of Ramos’ presidency was the peace negotiations between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which resulted in a peace agreement in 1997.
Ramos, the 12th Philippine president, will receive a state funeral with full military honors on August 9. His remains will be laid to rest at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani.
Malacañang has declared a 10-day Period of National Mourning from July 31 to August 9.
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