A soldier, first and foremost.
That’s how Filipinos from all walks of life knew General Eduardo Ramos Ermita.
The General was also a hero of the EDSA revolution, that one spark of action by the Filipino people that changed our history.
He served as head of the Special Information Group that backed then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel V. Ramos, under whom he served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from 1986 to 1988 under the late President Cory Aquino.
It was then that a series of coup attempts by some adventurous members of the military transpired from 1986 to 1988. He was an Undersecretary of National Defense during the last major coup attempt in December 1989.
He played a major role in thwarting them all, proving that the General was a quiet figure in ensuring the country’s stability amid various challenges.
Then he became the Defense chief and also an executive secretary before he embarked on politics and became a three-term congressman for Batangas in the House of Representatives.
The General, my father-in-law, died on Saturday, Oct. 18, at his home in Makati. He was 90.
I met the General years ahead of meeting my wife, Eileen.
I was a national swimmer then, when he was the President of the Republic of the Philippines Golf Association (RPGA), the national federation for the sport. We crossed paths in many assemblies of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and gatherings called by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
And then I met Eileen, the General’s daughter, in 1997. I courted Eileen and did not hesitate to pay my respect to the General the first time I saw him at home when I dropped my future wife in their home.
“Good evening po, Sir,” I greeted the General.
“Oh, Eric! Ano ginagawa mo dito?” the General asked.
“Ihinatid ko lang po si Eileen,” I replied.
I got a good ribbing from my then-future wife after that.
“Ang lakas ng loob mo ha!” she said and to which I could only give a meek slouch, short of a bow.
I remember that one time when he invited me to play golf and I scored 136, to which he said: “akala ko ba marunong ka mag-golf?”
I admitted to playing so nervously with him as a flight mate.
Papa was a loving father. He gave me his blessing to marry Eileen, whom he loved as much as all his children.
Even until his retirement, people still continued to express their gratitude to him for his various roles in the military, the executive, and the legislative.
“Salamat po sa inyo, naoperahan po si mama.”
“Magaling na po si tutoy.”
Yet, he never mentioned politics with any of them.
He was, like them, an ordinary guy.
He always said that service is a commitment. And he proved that.
He lived a life of service so that other people could live better.
At one time, when we discussed politics, he said: “Politics is like a marriage, once you are in, you are in and shall serve for life”.
That’s his legacy as a man of the people. An absolute man of service. We love and miss him. And I thank him for making this humble servant a better man.
Gen. Eduardo Ermita: Servant of the people
