Ramon Montaño (March 3, 1937 – July 2, 2024) was a Filipino politician and military officer.

Early life

Montaño was born in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

in 1937 to a family that originated from

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

and Guimaras.

Military career

Montaño graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1958 and served in the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; , ''HPP''; ) was a gendarmerie-type military police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police. It was created by the Insular Government, American occupat ...

. He was among several military officers who rebelled against the regime of President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

during the 1986

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 ...

. During the administration of President

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

, he was head of the Philippine Constabulary Capital Region Command, during which he was in overall command of police officers who opened fire on protesters demanding agrarian reform during the Mendiola Massacre in January 1987, which led him to resign. He later became chief of the Philippine Constabulary- Integrated National Police from 1988 to 1990, during which he oversaw the arrest of Reform the Armed Forces Movement leader Gringo Honasan in December 1987.

Civilian and political career

Following his retirement from the police service, Montaño became an undersecretary for the

Department of the Interior and Local Government The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for promoting peace and order, ensuring public safety and strengthening local government capability aimed towards ...

during the Aquino presidency in 1991 and served as presidential adviser for political affairs under President Fidel V. Ramos. He ran for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

in 1992 under the

Nationalist People's Coalition The Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) is a conservatism, conservative political party in the Philippines which was founded in 1992 by presidential candidate Danding Cojuangco. History Formation In 1990, amid political and economic unce ...

but lost to mayor Jejomar Binay. Montaño ran for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

as a candidate of the ''Partido Isang Bansa Isang Diwa'' in the 2004 elections but lost. In 2006, he was arrested on charges of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

following an alleged coup plot against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo but was later released due to lack of evidence. He ran again for the Senate as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

candidate in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, but lost again.

Personal life and death

Montaño was married to Fe Pareja, who later became mayor of San Jose, Negros Oriental. He died on July 2, 2024, at the age of 87.

References

1937 births 2024 deaths Filipino police chiefs Independent politicians in the Philippines People from Cebu City People from Negros Oriental Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Nationalist People's Coalition politicians National security advisers of the Philippines Philippine Military Academy alumni Corazon Aquino administration personnel Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines) Philippine Constabulary personnel {{Philippines-mil-bio-stub