feature | aSeaN
“Grandpa was a quiet man,” says Ramos’s
grandson, Ranjit Shahani. “He showed
his example by doing, not by talking: by
establishing relations with many countries,
having good relations with the heads of state,
heads of government of the countries he was
assigned to, interacting very effectively with
the cabinet, and showing that we could have a
very effective organisation called ASEAN here
in the heart of Southeast Asia.”
Born in Pangasinan, a province on the
island of Luzon, Narciso Ramos began his
career as a well-regarded lawyer who protected
the poor and the oppressed. He was elected
as a legislator and rose to congressman
before fighting as a guerilla in the Philippine
resistance during World War II , an act for
which he was awarded the Bronze Medal of
Valor. After national independence, he helped
establish the foreign service office and took on
the post of foreign secretary.Narciso Ramos (PHILIPPINES)
“The fragmented economies
of Southeast Asia... carry the
seeds of weakness in their
incapacity for growth and their
self-perpetuating dependence on
the advanced, industrial nations.
ASEAN, therefore, could marshal
the still untapped potentials of
this rich region through more
substantial united action”
Narciso Ramosbelow Narciso Ramos
(far left) poses for a
commemorative photo
with the other ASEAN
founding fathers
after the signing of the
Bangkok Declaration
in 1967“I think Grandfather had a sense that one
day, ASEAN would become a great institution,”
Shahani adds. At 67 years old, Ramos was the
eldest of the ministers to participate in the
iconic signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
He passed away from a stroke in 1986.PHOTO © ASEAN SECRETARIAT