Former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos will be laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City today.
The Philippine Army will lead the state funeral for the former commander-in-chief along with a “battalion-sized” contingent of honor guards from other major services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
At exactly 10 a.m., AFP soldiers will tender funeral departure honors for the country’s 12th president at the Heritage Park in Taguig City where his cremated remains lay in state for a week.
Army spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the soldiers will accompany the convoy of the former first family for the procession of his urn to the national cemetery.
A second battalion-sized contingent of honor guards will accord funeral arrival honors for the remains of the late Philippine leader, who led the nation to a period of peace, stability and economic growth in the nineties.
Trinidad said the honor guards will join a composite team in the funeral march to the inurnment site.
Full military honors and a 21-gun salute will conclude the state funeral, he added.
The retired police general, fondly known as FVR or “Steady Eddie,” led the country from 1992 to1998 succeeding the late President Corazon Aquino whom he helped assume power.
It was during his term that the nation was dubbed the “Tiger Cub Economy in Asia.”
Ramos led the Department of National Defense from 1988 to 1991 and served as Chief of Staff of the AFP from 1986 to 1988.
He also headed the Philippine Constabulary from 1972 to 1986.
Ramos was a career military officer and a graduate of West Point in 1950.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has declared 31 July to 9 August a period of national mourning over the passing of Ramos.
The late Philippine leader was a key figure in the pro-democracy uprising in 1986 that ended the 20-year rule of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Ramos passed away on 31 July at the age of 94.