Glimpses Of Greatness

Reprinted from Manila Bulletin (14 May 2017, focusfeature.mb.com.ph By Raymund Magno Garlitos A mother’s illustrious life, seen through the eyes of her daughter Leticia Ramos-Shahani was a woman larger than life—a career diplomat who was once the highest ranking woman in the United Nations system; the first Filipina envoy to a communist nation; a lawmaker who co-authored some of the most significant laws for the country in the post-EDSA era; a tireless public servant who advocated moral recovery for the Philippines; a voracious reader who loved literature and philosophy; a polyglot who spoke at least five languages; a feminist in the league of the likes of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem; and, most importantly, a parent who raised three children all by herself, in spite of these commitments. To her daughter, Lila Ramos Shahani, her mother’s mind and spirit have rubbed off onto her in many subliminal ways. “I’d like to think that, while I did not intentionally try to ...

Howie Severino Reprinted from 20 March 2017 GMA News Online , gmanetwork.com On my way out of an event at the Asian Institute of Management last November, former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani crossed my path. Instead of the perfunctory nod or hello, she stopped and told me, "I want you to know that my father thought very highly of your lolo. He used to say that Rod Severino was very useful to him in the foreign office." It was a startling, heart-warming reminder of my beloved lolo, with whom I lived as a teen-ager. Today, as we absorb news of Letty Shahani's death, I recall that moment as a singular act of sweetness. She could have just walked by; instead, my last memory of her was our fond reconnection as fellow members of diplomatic families, even if mine was nowhere near as prominent as hers. It reminded me that long before she became the younger sister of a president, she was the daughter of one of the country's foremost diplomats, the former Foreig...