The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard J. Gordon shared the legacy and notable contributions of late ex-President Fidel V. Ramos to the organization during his visit to his wake at the Heritage Park in Taguig.
According to Gordon, FVR was a "big believer" and "one of the greatest supporters" of the PRC.
Being a former military man, PRC said that the late president appreciated the value of blood in war zones and was a regular blood donor to the organization.
"Palaging nagbibigay ng dugo. Inaawat ko na lagpas na siya ng 65 ; sabi ko ‘ilalagay na lang namin sa museum ‘yang dugo ninyo’. Pero bigay pa rin nang bigay, because symbolic iyun eh (He always donates blood. I tried stopping him as he was already beyond the age limit of 65 years. I teased him that we will just place his blood in a museum but he kept on giving as the act was symbolic for him)," Gordon shared.
Gordon and FVR also worked side by side during the Mt. Pinatubo and the July 16, 1990 earthquake response in Cabanatuan.
PRC added that Gordon and FVR joined forces to rehabilitate areas in Central Luzon, including SBMA and Clark, after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption.
Gordon described him as an "enthusiastic" who always finds solutions to every problem.
Moreover, the PRC chairman called FVR in his speech one of the Philippines' "greatest statesmen" for his vision of having more investors in the country.
He also lauded FVR’s academic excellence as a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point.
"Nakakalungkot, pero nakakatuwa na nagkaroon tayo ng katulad nya: We did not have enough of him, which is sad, but we are happy we had him at all, even for a while (It is saddening, but also joyful that we had someone like him: We did not have enough of him, which is sad, but we are happy we had him at all, even for a while),” Gordon concluded.