Eduardo Ramos Ermita (born July 13, 1935) is a former military officer and politician who served as Executive Secretary of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and former spokesperson for President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

Education

Ermita is graduate of

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( / ) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was established on Decembe ...

class of 1957, and one of his batch mates is former Military Chief of Staff Rene de Villa. He took his Defense Resource Management Course at the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

, United States, from 1978 to 1979; Command and General Staff Course, Fort Bonifacio in 1974; Unit Psychological Officers Course,

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

Fort Bragg, North Carolina Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

, United States, from 1970 to 1971; Special Forces Course, Fort Magsaysay from 1962 to 1963; Counterintelligence Course, Special Intelligence School, Fort Bonifacio in 1962; Airborne School, Fort Benning,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, U.S.A. in 1961; and Ranger School, Fort Benning, Georgia from 1960 to 1961.

Military career

He was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...

during the series of coup attempts from 1986 to 1988, Undersecretary of National Defense during the last major coup attempt in December 1989, head of the Special Information group during the EDSA

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

in February 1986, and president of the

Alumni Association from 1986 to 1988.

Political career

Ermita was a three-term congressman, defeating one of the most influential political families, in the 1st District of Batangas from 1992 to 2001. He became the acting Secretary of National Defense from January to March 2001 under the new administration of President

, following the

Second EDSA Revolution The Second EDSA Revolution (), also known as the Second People Power Revolution, EDSA 2001, or EDSA II (pronounced ''EDSA Two'' or ''EDSA Dos'', the Spanish word for "two"), was a political protest from January 17–20, 2001 which peacefully ...

. He was later appointed on October 3, 2003, as a full-time Secretary of National Defense. He is the provincial chairman of

Lakas–CMD Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats, abbreviated as Lakas–CMD and also known simply as Lakas, (and known as Lakas–Kampi until 2011) is a political party in the Philippines. Lakas–CMD is considered to be on the Centre-right politics, centre ...

in Batangas and regional chairman of Lakas in Calabarzon since 1992.

Personal life

Ermita is married to Elvira Ramos from

Dipolog Dipolog (), officially the City of Dipolog (; Subanen languages, Subanen: ''Gembagel G'benwa Dipuleg/Bagbenwa Dipuleg''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, prov ...

, with whom he has four children, including Eileen Ermita-Buhain, who succeeded him as Batangas 1st district representative.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ermita, Eduardo 1935 births Living people Arroyo administration cabinet members Executive secretaries of the Philippines Filipino military personnel Grand Crosses of the Order of Lakandula Lakas–CMD politicians Lakas–CMD (1991) politicians Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Batangas People from Batangas Philippine Army personnel Philippine Military Academy alumni Presidential advisers on the peace process of the Philippines Presidential spokespersons (Philippines) Secretaries of national defense of the Philippines Philippine Constabulary personnel