Narciso Ramos - Political Life

Political Life

As a member of the official Philippine delegation, he participated in the International Conference of Students that convened in Peking, China in April 1922. From 1924 to 1934, before joining national politics, Ramos practiced law in his home province and in Manila. He was recognized as a pioneer in the field of law in Pangasinan. Despite the prestige and status he had gained as a lawyer, he still considered it his duty to defend the poor and the oppressed.

In 1934, he was elected representative of the fifth district of Pangasinan to the 10th Philippine Legislature. In 1941, due undoubtedly to his brilliant performance as a legislator and unstinting service to his constituents, he was reelected as a congressman. During the dark days of the Japanese occupation, he opted to risk his life by joining the Filipino resistance fighters, rather than collaborate with the enemy.

In 1946, the year the Philippines regained its independence, Ramos, by then already an eminent national figure, was called upon by President Roxas along with Ambassador Joaquin Elizalde to establish the country's foreign service and organize the first Philippine embassy in Washington, D.C. Thus began his long and distinguished career in Foreign Service.

Ramos prepared the first batch of Filipino consuls in America. While performing his duties as Philippine minister counselor in Washington, he also assisted in forming the basic framework of the country's Foreign Service rules. Among his pioneering achievements was the sending of several Philippine delegations to socialist and Latin American countries.

Ramos served as Philippine ambassador to Argentina from 1949 to 1952. From 1952 to 1956, during the early days of the Non-Aligned Movement, he was the Philippine envoy to India, having established the first Philippine mission in New Delhi. Later, in 1956, through his initiative as chief of mission, another embassy was set up in Taipei, where he served until 1965. In 1965, he was appointed foreign secretary by President Ferdinand Marcos. He served in that capacity until 1968. During this period, he achieved several milestones in his career and in the Philippines' international relations.

On August 8, 1967, he joined other Southeast Asian leaders in Bangkok in founding the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and in signing the ASEAN Declaration. Through the formation of ties with socialist countries, he affirmed his beliefs in a neutral foreign policy, notwithstanding his anti-Communist principles. The bonds he formed then have stayed firm despite the vicissitudes wrought by time on the fragile world of international relations.

Also, he endeavored to remold Philippine friendship with the United States by signing the Ramos-Rusk Agreement, which decreased the tenure of the RP-US military bases agreement by 25 years and allowed the crucial changes in the Military Bases Accord on January 7, 1979. He was also instrumental in reestablishing the Asia Pacific Council, or ASPAC.

Ramos left government service on December 31, 1968. During his retirement, however, he carried on tirelessly with his various civic, social and economic projects. In 1982, he was asked once more to serve in the government, as director of the Asian Exchange Center in Taipei, Taiwan (semi-official Ambassador to Taiwan). He was already 82 then, but he stayed on the job for three years. He was the quintessential public servant, having served selflessly under eight Philippine presidents, from Manuel L. Quezon to Ferdinand E. Marcos. A true patriot, too, he believed that nationalism and modernization, through which the country could gain true independence and self-reliance, were the key to national progress. Ramos received the Legion of Honor award (rank of commander) and the Bronze Medal of Valor for his services as a guerrilla in the Second World War. Later, in recognition of his achievements in the Foreign Service, he was given the Order of Sikatuna Award (rank of datu).