Former Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia expressed his deepest sympathies to the family of former President Fidel V. Ramos, who passed away yesterday. He was 94.
President Ramos’ demise is a great loss not only to former First Lady Ming Ramos, their children and next of kin but also to the entire Filipino nation which he served exemplarily from 1992 to 1998, Leonardia said.
“On a personal note, President Ramos’ brand of governance, which focused on the economy, became both my inspiration and a model as it was my first term as Bacolod City mayor in 1995 while he was the country’s Chief Executive,” he said.
Leonardia said Ramos was a man of action and was credited for the transformation of the sprawling Fort Bonifacio, an idle government property, into a bustling city that it is today.
On a macro level, he ushered the Philippines from being the “Sick Man of Asia” into a “Tiger Economy”, he said.
President FVR, as Ramos, was popularly known, served the Filipinos very well. He was highly regarded by the international community being an icon of democracy and defender of our territorial rights, Leonardia said.
“I, therefore, join the nation in mourning his loss but, at the same time, celebrate his life and pay tribute to his leadership that catapulted the image of the Philippines in the world stage,” the former mayor added.*
