Ex-Philippine leader and democracy defender Ramos is buried

By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos has been laid to rest in a state funeral. Ramos was hailed as an ex-general who backed and then helped oust a dictatorship. He became a defender of democracy and can-do reformist in his poverty-wracked country. Ramos died July 31 at age 94 from COVID-19 complications at the Makati Medical Center in the capital region, his family said. He also suffered from a heart condition and dementia. An urn containing the ashes of the U.S.-trained general, who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, was placed in a flag-draped coffin. It was carried by six pallbearers amid somber music. His cremated remains were placed in his grave Tuesday after a funeral procession and funeral attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.