Ramon Bagatsing

Ramon Delaraga Bagatsing Sr. (August 19, 1916 – February 14, 2006) was a Filipino politician.

Bagatsing was born on August 19, 1916, in Fabrica, Sagay, to an ethnic Filipino mother Dionisia Delaraga and Amado Bagatsing, a Punjabi immigrant from British Raj India,.

His father, originally named Mataram Siṅgh Baṅgā, had arrived after the bloody British Raj Colonial destructions and who, later inspired by the deeds of famous Indian revolutionary Bhagat Siṅgh, founded the Manila chapter of the Indian Indian Ghadar Party.

Thereafter he changed his name from Mataram Siṅgh Baṅgā (ਬੰਗਾ) to Amado Bhagat Siṅgh (ਭਗਤ ਸਿੰਘ), of which the Hiligaynon form Bagatsing has since become standard for the Philippine branch of his family.

The young Ramon worked as a bus conductor, night watchman, and security guard to augment his basic and school expenses.

To escape the hardships of poverty, he left his home province for Manila.

Bagatsing began his stint as a patrolman with the Manila Police Department from 1939 to 1941.

When the Second World War broke out in 1941, he enlisted with the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE).

He began as a first sergeant from 1941 to 1943, was promoted to first lieutenant in 1944, then to captain in 1945, and major in 1946.

He is a survivor of the Bataan Death March, where he was able to escape from soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army.

For his military service, Bagatsing was awarded the American Defense Ribbon, the Philippine Defense Ribbon, the Philippine Liberation Medal, the Asia-Pacific Campaign Medal and the Plaque of the Silver Kris of the Philippine Veterans Federation.

He was National Commander of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor and a member of the Philippine Veterans Legion, American Legion and American Disabled Veterans.

With the war over, he continued his law studies while working as the driver of the company bus of Elizalde & Co. From 1947 to 1957, he climbed the corporate ladder to become the company's Public Relations and Personnel Manager, and during the same period, passed the bar examinations and became a lawyer.

He was also a bank safe and home safety box salesman.

Bagatsing first entered public service in the 1957 elections when his province mate, then-presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines José Yulo, convinced him to run for Congress in Manila's then third district of Sampaloc, Sta. Mesa, Santa Ana, San Miguel, and Bacood.

He was elected Congressman for the first time and was the chairman of the House Veterans Committee.

He was elected again as Congressman in 1961 and held the chairmanship of the powerful Justice Committee.

As a legislator, Bagatsing authored several laws, such as the Philippine Veterans Act, the National Stud Farm Law, the laws creating the Bureau of Immigration, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the National Defense College of the Philippines and the Eulogio "Amang" Rodríguez Institute of Science and Technology, among others.

After his second term, he joined the Cabinet, becoming the country's chief graft-buster as Head of the Presidential Agency on Reforms and Government Operations (PARGO) from 1967 to 1969.

During his stint at PARGO, Bagatsing was dubbed by the Philippine Free Press as "The Incorruptible" for his prosecution of several high-profile corruption cases against prominent and high-ranking officials, including the conviction and expulsion of a city mayor for graft.

In 1969, he ran again for his old congressional seat in Manila and was overwhelmingly elected to a third term.

During his ten years, or three terms, in the Philippine House of Representatives, Bagatsing was consistently awarded and included in the lists of the country's "Ten Most Outstanding Congressmen" and "The 10 Most Useful Legislators of the Republic".

He was a leading reformer and a relentless crusader against the spread of communism in the Asia-Pacific region of the world as the founding chairman of the Philippine Anti-Communist League.

He was the only Filipino of Indian ancestry and person with disability (an amputee) who served as 19th Mayor of the City of Manila from 1971 to 1986.

Bagatsing held the unique distinction of being the only person to survive both the Bataan Death March and the Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971.

He was the military hero for the Liberation of Manila during the Second World War.

Before occupying the city's highest office, Bagatsing served as a Representative to Congress for Manila, member of Cabinet, lawyer, lay minister, and policeman.

He earned the moniker "The Incorruptible" for his clean record in public service and for his unwavering anti-graft and corruption stance.

Bagatsing was one of the survivors of the Plaza Miranda bombing on August 21, 1971, which was at that time considered one of the bloodiest political massacres in Philippine history.

Nine were killed and almost a hundred more—including Bagatsing—were wounded after two grenades were thrown on the stage by still-unknown assailants.

The public rally was meant to be Bagatsing's official proclamation as mayoral candidate for Manila of the opposition Liberal Party.

He was among the three most critically injured, along with Senators Jovito Salonga and Sergio Osmeña, Jr., who nearly lost their lives as they were front and center on the elevated platform, which was the epicenter of the bomb blast.

Others who were also hurt included prominent Philippine politicians such as Gerardo Roxas, Eva Estrada-Kalaw, Genaro Magsaysay, Ramon Mitra, Eddie Ilarde, Salipada Pendatun, Roberto Oca Jr. and John Osmeña.

Bagatsing was briefly clinically dead until he was revived by emergency medical staff in the hospital, being confined for almost three months while undergoing numerous delicate operations.

Shrapnel fragments damaged Bagatsing's lower abdomen, right arm, and right cheek bone, and Bagatsing's leg was amputated, badly damaging also his abdomen, right cheek bone and right arm.

His wife, Juanita, was also hurt in the blast, with shrapnel embedding her stomach, thighs, and hands.

This became a rallying point that galvanized support for their party and their electoral campaign.

In the 1971 local elections, Bagatsing defeated incumbent Mayor Antonio Villegas for the mayoralty of the City of Manila.

Early in his fifteen-year term, he established the first Barangay Bureau in the Philippines, creating the blueprint for the barangay (village) system as the basic socio-political unit for Manila.

This was quickly replicated by the national government and still survives to this day.