Fidel V. Ramos By Fidel V. Ramos Former Philippine President   “FVR challenged us to channel our knowledge and efforts to sports programs that will benefit all sectors of the citizenry….. That means sports for our young and old, for the physically and mentally handicapped – because to exercise and enjoy sports and recreation is a basic human right…..” — Philip Ella Juico   We pick up from our 24 December article titled “Christmas Nugget: Loving Thy Neighbor (First of Two Parts)” where we wrote about former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Philip “Popoy” Ella Juico and his admirable book “Sports And Governance: Pole-Vaulting Into The 21st Century (2000).” BASED ON PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND EVENTS ABOUT WHICH HE HAS DIRECT KNOWLEDGE, POPOY EXPOUNDS ON THE RAMOS PRESIDENCY’S VISION OF SPORTS AS A KEY COMPONENT OF PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT AND ITS SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. HE ALSO NARRATES THAT FVR EMPHASIZED HOW SPORTS WAS INTIMATELY LINKED TO THE WIDER ISSUES OF COMPETITIVENESS, PATRIOTISM, AND NATION-BUILDING. THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SUCCESS IN SPORTS COMPETITION AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE ARE EMBRACED BY FVR’S CONCEPT OF “LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD.”   FVR AND POPOY’S EARLY ENCOUNTERS IN “SPORTS AND GOVERNANCE,” POPOY JUICO REVEALS: “MY WORK IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT ALLOWED ME TO BECOME NODDING ACQUAINTANCES WITH FVR AS A FELLOW PUBLIC SERVANT PURSUING COMMON GOALS IN REBUILDING THE NATION. IT WAS OUR SHARED ENTHUSIASM FOR SPORTS AND OUR KINDRED VIEWS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SPORTS DEVELOPMENT, HOWEVER, THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR US TO WORK CLOSELY TOGETHER. “I met FVR at close range for the first time on 23 February 1986…… That meeting happened on the second night of the EDSA Revolution. Amid growing talks about a massive pre-dawn assault the next day by Marcos loyalists on Camp Crame, my wife Margie and I decided to see FVR late that evening in Crame which is near our home – to express our support. FVR was then AFP Vice Chief of Staff and concurrently Chief, Philippine Constabulary and Director-General, Integrated National Police..… By leading the AFP (including the PC) to rebel against President Marcos, FVR had ‘burned his bridges.’ “That personal encounter was the first of three major linkages that punctuate my personal and professional relationship with FVR. The second was in 1992, when he asked me to run for congressman of the First District of Quezon City under the newly formed Lakas-CMD Party. The third and most significant was in March 1995, when he appointed me Chairman of the PSC. “THESE THREE MAJOR LINK-UPS HAVE GIVEN ME THE PRIVILEGE OF KNOWING FVR AS A MODEL FILIPINO, LEARNING FROM HIS EXAMPLE, AND GAINING FROM HIS MENTORSHIP…..”   PROMOTING COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH SPORTS LAST 18 APRIL 1997 AS A SPECIAL EVENT DURING THE ASINGAN, PANGASINAN TOWN FIESTA, FVR INVITED JUICO TO THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW 25-METER OLYMPIC-SIZE SWIMMING POOL AT ITS SPORTS CENTER. In his book, Chairman Juico writes: “I had been on the De La Salle swimming team which was part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the late-70s. The last time I raced in competition was in 1987 when I anchored a 4x50-meter freestyle relay team during the Family Day Sportsfest of Ligaya ng Panginoon (Joy of the Lord), our Catholic community in Quezon City. I looked good in that race only because the other swimmers fared much worse than me. “So, it was with a measure of nervousness that I had to do some warm-ups before joining President FVR in a 250-meter ‘fun race’ with local athletes. The race – 10 laps in a 25–meter pool – was to highlight the inauguration of the first community swimming pool in Asingan. The PSC had helped finance the town’s sports center for the promotion of mass-based sports. “My game plan was to do relaxed freestyle laps and swim leisurely throughout the race. Though I had given up smoking for one year, I wasn’t really in ‘racing form.’ Besides, this provincial activity was supposed to be for fun! “In no time, President FVR pulled away from me. Although I expected that, I soon started to pick up my pace as I noticed FVR widening his lead, leaving me and the others behind. As the gap grew, I pushed myself some more. I was starting to conjure images of a heart attack if I swam any faster, but FVR’s momentum and enthusiasm were simply contagious. “FVR was swimming easily until he completed the 10 laps. Then he did two or three more to warm down.” THAT EXPERIENCE PROVED TO ME ONCE AGAIN THAT FIDEL VALDEZ RAMOS, THE PRESIDENT – MY BOSS – WAS INDEED A TRUE BLUE SPORTSMAN AND LEADER…., SAYS JUICO.   SMALL GESTURES MEANT A LOT CONTINUES POPOY….. I HAVE MANY STORIES TO SHARE ABOUT FVR, BUT THE FOLLOWING VIGNETTE PROBABLY BEST DEFINES HIM: “Narrating this anecdote portrays Ramos not just as a larger-than-life EDSA hero. Neither does this present him as public servant, national leader and statesman. Rather, it shows him as sincere friend or, simply put, good man – a goodness that is magnified through his simple but timely gestures. “On 16 July 1992, two weeks after FVR became President, the Sandiganbayan acquitted me of the charge of entering into a contract grossly disadvantageous to the Government in 1988 when I was Secretary of Agrarian Reform….. “At any rate, I had been exonerated by five investigative bodies but the Ombudsman decided to indict me before the Sandiganbayan just the same. The indictment hit the papers the next day, when my gravely ill father arrived from the U.S. in May 1991. I was finally acquitted after 39 months of grueling hearings, testimonies and meetings with lawyers….. “The next day after my Sandiganbayan acquittal, early in the morning of 17 July 1992, around 6:30 a.m. as I was praying before my father’s tomb at the family mausoleum in Novaliches, my celphone rang. President FVR, who must have read the story about my Sandiganbayan acquittal, called to congratulate me and assure me that ‘all along I knew you were innocent.’….. “I hardly expected the newly-sworn-in President to notice the acquittal and interrupt his busy schedule just to call me up. But he did it during a poignant moment in my life as I was praying to my late father that I did not fail him. I guess that, as a family man himself who had been the object of conspiracies, FVR could empathize.” PRESIDENT FVR KNEW HOW IMPORTANT THE ACQUITTAL WAS. HE TOOK THE TIME TO REACH OUT TO ME. HIS WAS, BY USUAL STANDARDS, A SMALL GESTURE….. BUT WHICH TOUCHED ME AND MY FAMILY DEEPLY.   THE SPORTSMAN AS BOSS FURTHER, POPOY RECALLS: “BY THE TIME THE RAMOS ADMINISTRATION BOWED OUT ON 30 JUNE 1998, I HAD KNOWN FVR IN THREE IMPORTANT WAYS. “The first was in February 1986, when Margie and I (and thousands of other Filipinos) defended Camp Crame during the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. The second was in 1992, when Ramos asked me to run under the Lakas-CMD banner when he was running for President….. The third was in 1995, when I accepted the Chairmanship of the PSC. “After EDSA but before my stint at the PSC, FVR was simply a co-worker in Government who was traveling a similar path….. As I got to work with him at the PSC, I came to respect him more. Clearly he was dedicated to public service and had a strong passion for excellence….. “I started to see similarities in our management styles. First, we both worked long hours and were energetic enough to keep on going up to late at night. Second, we had the drive and perseverance to know and master our jobs. Third, we loved sports and understood its role in human development….. “In 1993 FVR was the prime mover of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and was proud that he got the other Heads of State to agree to the holding of a BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games. The first BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games were hosted by the Philippines in General Santos City, a few days after the Palarong Pambansa at the same venue, in April 1996….. “FVR challenged us to channel our knowledge and efforts to sports programs that would benefit all sectors. Sports for health, sports for all. That meant sports for young and old people, for the physically and mentally handicapped….. because to exercise and enjoy sports and recreation is a basic human right. “To help achieve such goals, President FVR signed Executive Order 63, establishing a nationwide network that would oversee the promotion of physical fitness and sports development programs among the masses; and Executive Order 64, which made sports more accessible to all – regardless of age, residence, and physical capabilities. “Through these initiatives, we Filipinos should develop such values as patriotism, nationalism, self-discipline, unity, solidarity, teamwork, camaraderie, sportsmanship, respect for law and order, the continuing pursuit of excellence…..”   THROUGHOUT THIS NEW YEAR, KAYA NATIN ITO!!!   Please send any comments to [email protected]. Copies of articles are available at www.rpdev.org.