Dr. Ernesto G. Ramos, Fil-Am Leader, Ran for Philippine President, Dies at 69 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Sections - Obituary-Memorial Park | |||
Sunday, 31 October 2010 09:50 | |||
By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA (© Journal Group Link International)
Dr. Joyce Bruce, Ernie Ramos’ fellow officer in Florida’s chapter of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), said Mr. Ramos, a native of Binalonan, Pangasinan, is survived by his wife, Judith, his parents Teofilo and Gaudencia Ramos, his siblings Ray and Luis of the Philippines; his sisters Patricia (Greg) of Montreal and Gloria (Joseph) of Chicago; his nine grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews. Cause of death was not disclosed. (Editor’s Notes: Dr. Joy Bruce told this editor that Ernie Ramos suffered from lung cancer that spread to his brain. She said further that Mr. Ramos’ fatal illness was discovered only in August 2010. By that time, it was too late as the disease was already in a metastases stage.) At the time of his death, Mr. Ramos was actively campaigning for the Nov. 2 election of Rep. Kendrick Meek (FL-17-D), who grabbed national attention when former President Bill Clinton urged but failed to convince him to drop out and endorse Gov. Charlie Crist’s independent quest to stymie Republican nominee’s Marco Rubio’s race for the U.S. Senate. DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF M r. Ramos was chief deputy director of Representative Meek before his death. He was also senior aide and speechwriter to Mr. Meek’s mother, Rep. Carrie P. Meek, who gave up her seat in favor of her son. In his last postings to his friends and fellow countrymen on In a surprising e-mail to this reporter on (This reporter first met in In his subsequent e-mails to his friends and supporters, Mr. Ramos explained he was running for President of the Philippines to be an alternative to trapo (traditional politicians) candidates, who “have no qualms about spending their billions of campaign funds to win this election -- you can rest assured our agenda as a servant-leader/statesman-candidate is committed to saving the next generation. “It's along this patriotic idealism that we're pursuing this quest – not as a mere act adventurism nor is it to achieve fleeting honor or fame.”
He said, “Paradoxically, the same COMELEC approved the candidacy of former President Erap Estrada, a convicted felon, along with Vitaliano Acosta of Marcos' 28 YEARS OF POLITICAL
As soon as his party was denied by the Supreme Court, Mr. Ramos warmed up to party of then Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, DEFINING MOMENTS A bachelor’s degree holder from the Dr. Ramos' peers consider the following as his defining moments: The chairmanship of the national Filipino-American Public Affairs Coalition, the first Fil-Am Political action committee since the first Filipinos from Ilocos immigrated to the US via Hawaii in 1906; as a son of a WW II veteran, he chaired the NaFFAA’s Filipino Veterans Legislative Committee on the board of the National Veterans Equity (NAFVE). He led also the 2006 campaign victory of Palm Beach Commissioner Jess Santamaria to become the first-ever Filipino American to be elected in Florida; he helped put up Through Dr. Ramos' leadership, the community was able to save 10 Filipina mothers and their children from abusive U.S. citizen spouses from deportation under the 2000 Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) sponsored by Rep. Carrie Meek; Dr. Ramos coordinated also the 1997 Nicaraguan and Central American Refugee Act (NACARA) and the 1998 Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) that granted green cards to more than 150,000 refugees from those countries; and directed the 27-member Florida Congressional delegation accessing monies to fund the $24-B “We Will Rebuild” project after the devastation by 1992 Hurricane Andrew and the $18-B Everglades Restoration Project, one of the world’s foremost eco-system enterprises protecting the environment. # # # Editor’s Note: To contact the author, please e-mail him at: (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
Newer news items:
Older news items:
|
|||
Last Updated on Sunday, 31 October 2010 09:57 |
Please consider supporting the "ReVOTElution of Hope" for Sorsogon as the Pilot Province. Please see "ReVOTElution" Banner on this page for details.