A tribute to Senator Leticia V. Ramos Shahani
ASKED BY A TV REPORTER ABOUT THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF LETTY RAMOS SHAHANI AS PUBLIC SERVANT, THIS WRITER FRANKLY, WITHOUT HESITATION, ANSWERED:
Among the children of Narciso Rueca Ramos and Angela Valdez Ramos, daughter Leticia “Letty” V. Ramos Shahani comes closest to their achievements in the fields of diplomacy, law-making, education, gender equity, human rights, community development, and other advocacies. There were three of us, including youngest Glory R. da Rodda – a retired consular service officer.
Letty studied in the same public elementary school in Lingayen, Pangasinan, as older brother Fidel (aka “Eddie”). Among her classmates in grade school and life-time buddy was former Bangko Sentral Governor, the late Gabby Singson. She finished grade school at the UP Elementary School at Padre Faura, together with another eminent, former Prime Minister Cesar Virata in 1941. She finished high school in Washington, DC in 1947 where her father “Nachong” served as minister-counselor in the new Philippine Embassy.
Inspired by her mother “Ilang,” who was an English major from the University of the Philippines and also a tireless social worker, Letty pursued her studies at Wellesley College in Massachusetts where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature in 1951. In 1953, she obtained her Master of Arts in Comparative Literature from Columbia University in New York with a short stint at Scotland’s University of Edinburgh. In 1962, as scholar of the French government (based on competitive exams), she obtained her doctorate in Comparative Literature with highest honors at the world-known Sorbonne (University of Paris).
FOLLOWING IN HER FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS WHO PIONEERED IN OPENING LINKS WITH SOCIALIST COUNTRIES IN THE LATE 1960S, AMBASSADOR SHAHANI STARTED HER FOREIGN SERVICE CAREER IN 1975 AS PHILIPPINE ENVOY TO THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF ROMANIA. AS THE FIRST AMBASSADOR TO OPEN A PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN ANY SOCIALIST OR COMMUNIST COUNTRY, SHE WAS ALSO CONCURRENTLY ACCREDITED AS AMBASSADOR TO EAST GERMANY (BERLIN) AND HUNGARY (BUDAPEST) FROM 1975 TO 1978. CAN ANYONE IMAGINE HOW DIFFICULT THAT TRIPLE ASSIGNMENT WAS – AT THE HEIGHT OF THE COLD WAR?? LETTY NEVER FLINCHED.
SHE LATER BECAME PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRALIA FROM 1978 TO 1980, AS WELL AS COMMISSIONER OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE ROLE OF FILIPINO WOMEN – PARALLELING HER MOTHER’S ADVOCACY FOR GENDER EQUITY. THE UNITED NATIONS
LETTY IS ALSO KNOWN FOR HAVING SERVED IN THE U.N. FOR MANY YEARS IN VARIOUS ROLES.
From 1981 to 1986, she served as UN assistant secretary-general for social development and, in 1985, was concurrently secretary-general of the Third World Conference on the UN Decade of Women in Nairobi, Kenya. In the same year, she was named the secretary-general of the UN’s Seventh Congress on Crime Prevention and Treatment of Offenders in Milan, Italy. In such defining roles over the years, Letty earned the respect of the UN community and was cited for her work as one of the “icons” of the women’s international movement.
In her youth, Letty displayed a fierce sense of independence and competitive spirit. True to the traditions of the strong-willed Valdez clan of Batac, Ilocos Norte, Letty gambled her diplomatic career in late December, 1985, when she resigned her high-ranking UN post plus her career in the Philippine Foreign Service in protest against the Marcos dictatorship.
SHE CAME HOME TO THE PHILIPPINES TO CAMPAIGN FOR CORY AQUINO AND JOINED THE OPPOSITION MOVEMENT THAT LED TO THE 1986 PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION AT EDSA.
THE TURNAROUND
THAT WAS A CLASS ACT – COMING FROM A CLOSE MARCOS RELATIVE – AN UNHEARD OF STANCE DURING THOSE TUMULTUOUS DAYS. SHE VOICED HER PROTESTS AGAINST THE ABUSES OF THE REGIME AND WAS AN OUTSTANDING MODEL OF PRINCIPLED DEMOCRATIC COMMITMENT AT A TIME WHEN THE COUNTRY WAS DIVIDED.
In her own words, Letty would explain her personal decision that surprised even brother FVR who was then AFP vice chief of staff and concurrently chief of the PC-INP. IN THE SENATE
KNOWN FOR HIS KNACK FOR DELIBERATE DECISION-MAKING AND TIMING, HOWEVER, FVR HAD THIS TO SAY ABOUT LETTY’S COURAGEOUS DECISION TO SEVER TIES WITH THE MARCOS GOVERNMENT.
was Letty’s curt reply when asked by reporters about her decisive turnaround. She was appointed undersecretary of foreign affairs in the Cory government, became part of Cory’s senatorial team, and handily won a seat in the Senate in 1987. She was re-elected in 1992.
AMONG PANGASINENSES, LETTY BELONGS TO THE GROUP OF ILLUSTRIOUS WOMEN LEGISLATORS WHO INCLUDE SENATORS GERONIMA PECSON AND EVA ESTRADAKALAW. ON 26 JULY 1993, SHE BECAME SENATE PRESIDENT PRO-TEMPORE – THE FIRST WOMAN ELECTED TO THE SENATE’S SECOND HIGHEST POST.
SHE ALSO CHAIRED THE COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION, CULTURE AND ARTS; FOREIGN RELATIONS; AGRICULTURE AND FOOD; AND, WOMEN AND FAMILY RELATIONS. SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS FROM 1987 TO 1992 AND 1995 TO 1996.
LIKE HER FATHER WHO SPONSORED THE BILL TITLED THE FOREIGN SERVICE ACT IN 1945 IN THE LOWER HOUSE, SENATOR LETTY SHAHANI COUNTS AS ONE MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT THE PASSAGE OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7157, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “1991 FOREIGN SERVICE ACT.”
SHE WAS ALSO THE PRINCIPAL SPONSOR OF MANY LANDMARK LAWS ON EDUCATION, PARTICULARLY: R.A. 7686, “STRENGTHENING MANPOWER EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE PHILIPPINES;” R.A. 7722, “CREATING THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION (CHED);” R.A. 7796, “CREATING THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (TESDA);” AND R.A. 6728, “PROVIDING GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PRIVATE EDUCATION (GASTPE).” MORAL RECOVERY
LETTY WAS THE AUTHOR/ MAIN PROPONENT OF THE MORAL RECOVERY PROGRAM OF THE PHILIPPINES (MRP), A NATIONWIDE PROGRAM SINCE 1987 TO INTEGRATE ETHICAL VALUES INTO NATION-BUILDING AND GOVERNMENT SERVICE.
Letty promoted the Carabao Act of 1992 by establishing a Carabao Center and developing dairy farming in an 8-hectare lot in Urdaneta, Pangasinan. Thus was established the “Shahani Gatas Kalabaw,” a facility for milk pasteurization and packaging which she personally managed. Letty was a champion of agricultural entrepreneurship among her many initiatives.
She has written several books, among them:
As a university instructor, she taught English literature, French, Spanish, Comparative Literature, Humanities, Social Psychology, the Religions and Cultures of Asia in the UP (1954-1957), and at the Queensborough Community College (1961), Brooklyn College (1962), New School for Social Research (1962-1967), all in New York. She was a College Dean of Miriam College and the Lyceum of the Philippines University.
VARIOUS AWARDS
She earned many awards, notably the “Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service” (TOWNS1974), Order of Teodor Vlademirescu (1978), Gintong Ina Award for Public Service (1990), DFA’s Gawad Mabini (1995), French Legion of Honor (1996), the UN Rafael Salas Population and Development Award (1996), and Lazo de Dama de la Orden de Isabel la Catolica (1996), among many others.
IN 1968, SHE WAS WIDOWED UPON THE DEATH OF HUSBAND, RANJEE SHAHANI, A DISTINGUISHED WRITER AND PROFESSOR. BUT, UNDAUNTED, LETTY WENT ON TO RAISE HER 3 CHILDREN – RANJIT, CHANDA, AND LILA – BY BALANCING CAREER WITH MOTHERHOOD WITH EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS.
RANJIT HAS SERVED AS PANGASINAN’S VICE GOVERNOR, PROVINCIAL BOARD MEMBER, AND CONGRESSMAN OF THE 6TH DISTRICT CENTERED ON ASINGAN, HOMETOWN OF HIS LOLO NACHONG. CHANDA IS A SUCCESSFUL REAL ESTATE BUSINESSMAN. LILA IS THE INCUMBENT SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL COMMISSION TO THE UNESCO.
AT THE TIME OF HER DEATH AT AGE 87, LETTY WAS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE MANILA ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL OFFICE (MECO) IN TAIWAN, AND VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE PHILIPPINE NAVY BOARD OF ADVISERS.
TO THE VERY END, HERS WAS A FIRST-CLASS ACT – INDEED, SHE WAS BETTER THAN MOST OTHERS, INCLUDING THE BOYS!!!