Fellow diplomats pay emotional tribute to Leticia Ramos Shahani

The Department of Foreign Affairs paid tribute on Friday to their late fellow diplomat Leticia Ramos-Shahani, who helped nurture Philippine diplomacy, fought for women's rights and called on Filipinos to staunchly defend the country's rights in the South China Sea - at the shores of which she grew up.

Acting Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and United Nations official Ola Almgren led the mourners who recalled the various exploits of Ramos-Shahani, who died Monday of colon cancer. She was 87.

Her flag-draped gold coffin was brought to the Apolinario Mabini Hall of the DFA for an emotional necrological rite attended by her family, which included her brother, former President Fidel Ramos, and retired and active Filipino diplomats.

Manalo said the former diplomat turned Senator “ardently championed and supported causes of the Philippine Foreign Service” on both fronts.

“The DFA family mourns the passing of a renowned diplomat, an outstanding legislator and most of all a dear, respected and beloved colleague,” he said.

Ramos-Shahani will always be remembered for authoring the Philippine Foreign Service Act of 1991.

The law, Manalo said, “ensured the department’s continued primacy in the nation’s foreign relations.”

“The Philippine Foreign Service is where it is today because of Sen. Shahani’s forward-looking vision,” he said.

Born on September 30, 1929 in Lingayen, Pangasinan, Shahani was the daughter of late Foreign Affairs Secretary Narciso Ramos and Angela Valdez. She was the younger sister of former President Fidel V. Ramos.

Career diplomat

A deft career diplomat, Shahani was the first Filipina ambassador assigned to a communist state, having served as ambassador to Romania with concurrent jurisdiction on Hungary and East Germany from 1975 to 1980.

She was also the first female senator to be elected as Senate President Pro-Tempore in the 9th and 10th Congresses.

Fondly called by colleagues and close friends as Manang Letty, Ramos-Shahani was among the highest-ranking women at the United Nations, having served as Assistant Secretary-General for social development and humanitarian affairs from 1981 to 1986.

She co-authored the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, was chair of the UN Commission on Women and secretary general of both the Third UN Conference on Women and Seventh Congress on Crime Prevention and Treatment of Offenders in 1985.

To the UN, Ramos-Shahani “will long be remembered and appreciated as the gains of her work will continue to be felt for generations to come.”

“She demonstrated outstanding leadership and public service,” Almgreen, resident coordinator of the UN Information Center, said. “Her ideas were ahead of her time.”

“Many strive to leave this world in better shape. But very few positively impact the world the way you did,” he added.

Second home

In an emotional eulogy, Ramos-Shahani’s daughter, Lila, said her mother considered the DFA as her “beloved second home.”

“Throughout her life, mom dealt with all sorts of people and all sorts of situations – from communists, strongmen, to UN secretaries general, from Presidents to activists, from the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor,” said Lila Shahani.

“As the cancer ravaged her body, her mind remained sharp and her spirit unfailing till the very end.”

Born and raised as a child in Lingayen, Pangasinan, located in Northern Luzon facing the South China Sea, Lila said her mother always had a “strong attachment” to the waters now referred by Manila as West Philippine Sea.

Before her death, Ramos-Shahani has been known as one of the strongest defenders of the Philippines’ claim to South China Sea territories amid simmering disputes with China, which asserts ownership over nearly the entire resource-rich waters.

Rear Admiral Rafael Mariano said Ramos-Shahani helped advance the interest of the Philippines as a maritime nation.

“Her belief is that every Filipino and only the Filipino has the right over our archipelago,” Mariano said. “She was an epitome of compassion and patriotism.”

“She will always be our beacon who shall guide us in our pursuit of a stronger, better and more credible navy, protecting every inch of our archipelago and maritime rights,” he said.

Passion for literature

In the midst of all her accomplishments, Ramos-Shahani nurtured a deep passion for literature.

She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and went on to pursue her master’s degree in Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York.

Ramos-Shahani finished her Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature with the highest honors.

“She was independent in many ways but she was also reasonable in the exercise of her profession as a diplomat, particularly in the UN,” said Rosario Manalo, former ambassador and current Philippine representative to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

Former Foreign Secretary Delia Albert called Ramos-Shahani as a “woman for all seasons,” while retired ambassador Rosalinda Tirona described her as a “feminist and a humanist.”

Jun Lozada, an ex-diplomat who later became a congressman, said her former boss and mentor “was passionate and one of a kind.”

Philippine diplomats lamented that Ramos-Shahani’s passing has left a huge void in the Philippine Foreign Service.

They said she was the epitome of a world class Filipina — strong, intelligent, accomplished, and one who was always passionate about the Philippines.

“As she was a mother to her children, she was also one to the DFA,” Foreign Secretary Manalo said. —JST, GMA News