MANILA - Senators on Monday honored former President Fidel Valdez Ramos, whose demise Sunday happened a day before the death anniversary of his former superior, the late President Corazon Aquino.

Four resolutions were incorporated -- all expressing the chamber’s “profound sympathy and sincere condolences” over the passing of the retired military general and president.

This was followed by the string of speeches delivered by each senator, recalling the 94-year old statesman’s contributions to the nation.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri opened the more than an hour of paying tribute to Ramos, better known as FVR. Zubiri remembered the late president as the one whose motivation was always to pursue peace and bring progress to the nation.

The Ramos government inked a peace agreement with the RAM-SFP-YOU in 1995, and the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996.

“He believed strongly that we have what it takes to better ourselves and give our children the brighter future they deserve. He imagined a better country for all of us, and willed himself, and worked himself to the bone, to realize it. The result was that he left the nation better than he found it,” Zubiri said.

“We in Mindanao will always hold him in high regard for his initiatives towards peace. And as a legislator, I do not think that the Bangsamoro Organic Law would have been possible without the foundation of the peace deals he laid out during his presidency,” he added.

It was also Ramos who signed Republic Act 7640 which institutionalized the LEDAC or Legislative-Executive-Development Advisory Council, Zubiri noted.

It was Ramos who encouraged the then journalist Loren Legarda to take a plunge in politics and run for the Senate.

Legarda said it was also FVR who taught him how to perform always with CSW – complete staff work – to ensure a quality service.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva thanked Ramos for signing in 1994 the TESDA Law or Republic Act 7796, and for being an infectious leader full of positivity.

“Sino po ang makakalimot sa mga salitang “KAYA NATIN ITO” na may kasabay pang “THUMBS UP” sign? A constant reminder that the Filipino can,” Villanueva noted.

Ramos, meanwhile, regularly sent books to Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr., during his five-year detention.

It was also FVR who introduced him to politics, Revilla said.

“In the darkest times of my life, when I was in Crame for almost five years, FVR was by my side. He would send me books to read. Lagi niya akong pinapayuhan, binibigyan ng pag-asa, at katatagan,” he said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian opts to remember Ramos’s steady hand in resolving the country’s gargantuan blackout problem within a year’s time.

Senator Robin Padilla meantime recalled FVR’s generosity to grant him a pardon from his illegal firearms conviction.

Other senators who also honored FVR include Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Christopher “Bong” Go, Raffy Tulfo and Pia Cayetano.

The Senate adopted the consolidated resolution at 6:21 in the evening, Monday.

• Philippines mourns death of former President Fidel Ramos
• Tributes pour in for former President Fidel V. Ramos

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