FVR, wife Ming show dancing prowess in joint birthday bash

FILE: Fidel V. Ramos and Amelita Ramos on their wedding day, October 21, 1954, taken from Simply Ming by Melandro T. Velasco (Photo: Malacañang Museum/Facebook)

MANILA — For former President Fidel V. Ramos and his wife, former First Lady Ming Ramos, age is just a number as they grooved in an impromptu dance number during their joint birthday celebration at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on March 15.

Their guests were overjoyed and clapped their hands when they saw Ramos and Ming dancing to their hearts’ content to the lively music.

FVR, as the former president is widely known, took the hand of his wife and asked her to dance with him which the former First Lady gladly accepted.

Ramos will turn 90 on Sunday (March 18) while Mrs. Ramos will mark her 90th birthday next month.

Despite their age, they still have the stamina to dance and move around with ease as both are physical education buffs.

FVR plays golf on weekends to maintain his physical fitness while Ming plays badminton every now and then.

Mrs. Ramos, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from Sargent School, Boston University and a Master of Science in Physical Education and Recreation from the University of California, Los Angeles, cited the importance of teaching physical education to children at the kindergarten level.
In a letter addressed to Education Secretary Leonor Briones, she said,

“We should improve and strengthen the physical education subjects in our schools,” she said. “Filipinos should learn different sports and should start training at an early age. This is done in other countries so they have strong competitive athletes.”

“Right now, many Filipino athletes start training when they are teenagers and that is already too late,” she added.

In the United States, children are trained as young as four months old in programs aimed at increasing mobility and coordination, Mrs. Ramos said.

The former First Lady said Philippine schools should require that physical education should start when children enter kindergarten.

As a young woman, she served as a practice teacher in elementary schools in Medford, Massachusetts and upon her return to the Philippines, she became a physical education instructor at the Lyceum in Manila, and at the International School Manila in Taguig City where she works until now.

She started playing badminton at the tender age of 16 and was then hired as clerk by the Metropolitan Water District, now Metropolitan and Waterworks Sewerage System (MWSS), so she could play badminton, among other responsibilities.