Since the announcement of his death yesterday afternoon, there has been a plethora of praise for Fidel Valdez Ramos. It’s a typical reaction for President’s who were able to ingratiate themselves to the broader sectors of society; meaning those whose opinions count. Unfortunately, it’s not a fair and objective assessment. Here, we dissect the Ramos Presidency and his influence even after he stepped down.
Such is the duplicity of Philippine society’s elite, which is another reason why we are in the mess we find ourselves in now in agriculture and education. This is also true for the current state of the national capital region with its high population density and its mass transport woes.
Ramos’ military background wasn’t very evident when he became President except for his requirement of complete staff work on whatever was put before him. But he never bothered with buckling down to uniting the country.
He could never forgive his cousin for his preference for Fabian Ver over him. He did allow the Marcos’ to return to the country to bring back the remains of Apo Lakay and face their cases in court.
Ramos’ priority was coming off as a statesman which is why he made peace with the Leftists and the Rightists. You saw how Leftists were praising him left and right yesterday. It was under Ramos’ watch that the anti-subversion law was repealed. The peace agreement with the Left allowed them to operate aboveground and even penetrate government departments and agencies. The Lakas-controlled Congress also passed the enabling law for the party-list system which has been taken advantage of now not only by leftist-militant groups but also by the political elite.
As far as the economy was concerned, FVR didn’t really push for true economic reform but more of implementing the American neoliberal ideology of free trade and import liberalization. Look at the present state of our agricultural sector.
Then there was the continuation of the privatization binge. The National Power Corporation was broken up and its assets sold to the private sector. Ramos still opposed the operation of the BNPP even if this would’ve been the best option considering the power shortage which had Filipinos suffering from brownouts everyday.
The same is true with water distribution in the NCR with concessions awarded to Manila and Maynilad Water. Ramos may have broken PLDT’s telco monopoly during his administration but again, look at the state of our telecommunications industry at present. Regulaory capture continues.
The dismantling of the Philippine National Oil Company continued under Ramos’ watch with the partial privatization of Petron with the sale of a minority stake to Saudi Aramco. Now, Petron is owned by San Miguel Corporation.
Ramos was also the first President to put forth a modernization program for the AFP. This was to be financed by the sale of land within Fort Bonifacio and Villamor Air Base. Much to the chagrin of the military, the bulk of the modernization fund didn’t go to them. Neither did they get salary increases. None of their equipment was upgraded. It was also during this time that the AFP-RSBS went bankrupt. Until now, there is no enabling law for military and other uniformed government personnel pensions. This continues to be a burden on the national budget as pensions are paid out as a line item in the national expenditure program.
There were also scandals galore during the Ramos administration. PEA-Amari, Expo Pilipino, the execution of Flor Contemplacion in Singapore and the activities of socialite Rosemary Jimenez Arenas, widely known to be the mother of Ramos’ only son. This was confirmed in the memoirs of Jose Almonte, Ramos’ national security adviser and chief ideologue.
There was also the moronic Pabahay sa Riles of New San Jose Builders. This project never took off and even resulted in the destruction of the Paco PNR Station, a heritage structure. It ony ran the length of the PNR tracks from Paco to Vito Cruz. Ironically, Jerry Acuzar has just been appointed by PFRMJ as Secretary of the Deparment of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
It was an open secret that Arenas’ brother, who is a well-known executive in the forwarding and logistics industry, was the conduit between his sister and the Bureau of Customs and anything else that needed to be brought for the consideration of Arenas.
In the 1992 election, it was no secret that Ramos was the American bet. This was why he won Cory’s anointment. Seven candidates ran for the Presidency; Ramos, Ramon Mitra, Eduardo Cojuangco, Miriam Santiago, Jovito Salonga, Salvador Laurel and Imelda Marcos.
Ramos bolted the administration party LDP when it selected Mitra over him as standard-bearer. He enlisted the services of Ronnie Puno to be his campaign manager. Roquito Ablan was tasked to convince Imelda to run in order to split the Marcos loyalist vote.
Danding Cojuangco formed the Nationalist People’s Coalition out of the remnants of the old KBL machinery and the Nacionalista’s who Doy Laurel didn’t control under UNIDO. Salonga ran uder the Liberal Party, partly funded by the spoils from the PCGG and his stint as Senate President. Miriam formed the People’s Reform Party on her own.
On election day, Mitra was betrayed by Peping Cojuangco who engineered an informal coup in the LDP. Mitra wasn’t on the sample ballot as President. It was Ramos’ name on the sample ballot. Cojuangco spoke with Mitra to convince him to withdraw in his favor in exchange for a political alliance but Mitra was both confident and adamant since he had the backing of Lucio Tan.
In the end, Ramos won with only 23% of the vote courtesy of Ronnie Puno’s operations in Mindanao. Mitra cut a deal with Ramos for his votes. Ramos edged Santiago by 874,348 votes. Thus began her long-standing hatred for Ramos and Puno. But if Imelda had not run, Danding would’ve won the election with 6,454,670 votes. There goes the myth that Filipinos had had enough of Marcos in 1986. The Yellows didn’t complain about the plurality because they won, or at least they think they did.
Ramos didn’t have a clear economic policy for the country as evidenced back by the lack of enabling legislation save for the BOT Law, which was used mainly to build power plants to meet the demand for energy. At that time, Philippine conglomerates borrowed heavily in dollars for their capital expenditures. This worked if you had foreign exchange cover; meaning a revenue source from exports supplying foreign exchange for debt service requirements.
Ramos made himself the country’s salesman for Philippines 2000. The year he wanted the Philippines to join the ranks of emerging economy’s just like the tiger economy’s in the region such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. This all came crashing down in 1997, when the Asian financial crisis hit.
Philippine companies which borrowed dollar-denominated loans were struck by the double-whammy of the peso devaluation and an economy which came to a screeching halt because the region was put in a financial bind. Real estate companies took a beating along with companies which were very aggressive with their expansion, again using cheap dollar-denominated debt. When Joseph Estrada took office, the Philippines was back to square one.
There was no way that Joe De Venecia would defeat Erap in the 1998 election. The case was made for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to become Lakas standard-bearer but Ramos and De Venecia would have none of it. Filipinos went for a split-ticket again. Erap and GMA won.
Everyone knew the minute that Erap formed a commission headed by Rene Saguisag to investigate the anomalies at the Centennial Expo that Erap was doomed.
To begin with, the Yellows didn’t like Estrada because of his close ties to the Marcos’. Erap was deemed morally unfit by Caridinal Sin because he had a very extended family. He exacerbated these issues by carousing nightly with his midnight Cabinet at Malacanan. Before you knew it, Erap found himself the subject of the first impeachment case at the Senate.
We all know what happened there. When GMA had a fallling out with Cory and the latter wanted her out, FVR didn’t go along with it. He understood that the international community would only tolerate one EDSA 2. It also helped that Vice-President Noli De Castro wouldn’t go along with the plans of Cory and the Yellows.
Ramos’ last hurrah was persuading Rodrigo Duterte to run for President. It helped that the Ramos Origs, led by Sonny and Paul Dominguez were also close to Duterte. FVR couldn’t tolerate a Mar Roxas Presidency following PNoy’s. Mamasapano and the Zamboanga siege were enough proof that manlets shouldn’t become Presidents.
Ramos thought he could control Duterte. But by 2017, Ramos was no longer a fixture at Malacanan. As it turns out, GMA was closer to the President.
Postscript
With the recent passing of former President Maria Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco-Aquino, and as the 26th anniversary of that fateful day of 21 August 1983 fast approaches, One important question still looms in the minds of millions and millions of Filipinos just like you and I, here in the Philippines and elsewhere in the world…
WHO HAD NINOY AQUINO KILLED???
OK, OK, OK, President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos said that Rolando “Lando” Galman, whoever he was, did it. Poor Rolando Galman. They just fattened him for the kill, like “lechon.” They didn’t even have the decency to fix him up for his final “one moment in time” press kit — no makeup artist, no hairdresser, no tailor, no society photographer. Well, at least he had his fifteen minutes of fame, or notoriety, whichever. I believe that Rolando Galman killed Ninoy Aquino as much as Yosemite Sam killed Daffy Duck in the “Merrie Melodies” cartoons.
But I do believe that President Ferdinand Marcos was far too intelligent, much too brilliant, and way too prescient to have ordered Ninoy Aquino’s assassination. One must never forget that he was the ultimate master of the Filipino psyche. Unless he was having a “stupid moment” and saying “What was I thinking?” which all humans have at some points of their lives anyway.
On the other hand, there is the persistent story that upon finally being informed of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino at the MIA Manila International Airport that afternoon, the already very ill President Ferdinand Marcos hurled an object, usually said to be a vase, towards his First Lady, Imelda Marcos. At that time, it was said that he was not at the Malacanang palace; he was supposed to have been confined at the new Kidney center of the Philippines in Quezon City. Nurses outside the room swore that they heard a breakable object crash to the floor and invectives hurled by the very ill President at both Madame Marcos and General Ver.
There are people, mostly anti-Marcos, who claim that if that story was true, then President Marcos, First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, and General Fabian Ver were just “play-acting”…
Another persistent story, certified true by close Marcos and Romualdez family members, was that upon being informed of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino at the MIA Manila International Airport, the already very ill and very weak President Marcos sat up on his hospital bed, as if from an electric shock, and declared: “Oh no! This is the end! This is the end of all of us!!!”
One of my mentors, the deliciously, wickedly, incorruptibly corrupt Eminence Gris, never fails to remind me that everything boils down to MONEY. “Pera lang yan.” he insists. If one has a question about anything, specially in politics and government, not only in the Philippines but everywhere else in the world, The answer is money. Why did the USA wage war in Iraq? Money. Why did the USA have a financial meltdown? Money. Why does the USA do business with China? Money. Why did Communist China turn capitalist? Money. Why did Ferdinand Marcos remain as President of the Philippines for 21 years? Money. Why did the USA abandon Ferdinand Marcos and support Corazon Aquino during the EDSA Revolution? Money. Why do we have a never-ending Communist insurgency? Money. Why do we have a never-ending Islamic insurgency in Mindanao? Money. Why do all those candidates — Manny Villar, Mar Roxas, Gilbert Teodoro, Chiz Escudero, Loren Legarda, Jamby Madrigal, Bayani Fernando, Jejomar Binay, et. al. — want to become the President of the Philippines in 2010? Money.
Why was Ninoy Aquino killed??? Because of money.
In the study of this 26 year-old mystery case, the crucial question is: Who had the most to lose in terms of money — if Ninoy Aquino returned to the Philippines — before 21 August 1983???
President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos?
First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos?
Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Fabian C. Ver?
Vice Chief of Staff General Fidel V. Ramos?
Defense Minister Juan Ponce-Enrile?
Multimillionaire businessman Benjamin “Kokoy” Trinidad Romualdez, Imelda Marcos’ younger brother?
Multimillionaire businessman Eduardo “Danding” Murphy Cojuangco Jr.?
The CIA Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America?
The CPP Communist Party of the Philippines / The NPA New People’s Army / Jose Maria Sison?
Years ago, a top official of the Marcos administration, privy to the highest and innermost circles, and yes, almost a “crony,” told me, without revealing anything: “You will have to wait until we are all dead, hijo. Several are still alive and active in national politics and big business. It was very complicated… It was not one, not two, not even three people involved, but several. An entire cast of characters as exciting as a suspense thriller movie. James Bond 007 had nothing to compare! You will be surprised by who was actually involved as well as by who was actually not involved. It was initially planned in a sports facility. The intelligence operatives knew about it. Even I knew it was going to happen. I contemplated sending my family abroad. But what could I do except wait for the moment of damnation… of all of us???”
Moment of damnation indeed.
And the moment of redemption for the Filipino people and their nation.
Post Script: By February of 1985, one year before the EDSA Revolution, the Marcos administration was already faced with tremendous difficulties — including the worsening SLE systemic Lupus erythematosus of President Ferdinand Marcos — to the point that the First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos had quietly requested her family members: “Pray. Please pray and pray hard. For it is all about to end.” Remembrance of Things Awry by Toto Gonzales
The story told me was the coronary by-pass done in Texas wouldn’t last more than two years and a heart transplant was in order. The problem was, while the transplant could be done in Houston, there was no donor because the recipient couldn’t be placed on the donor list because he wasn’t an American citizen.
Since reports had it that the Great Ilokano himself was on the verge of demise, why not go for broke and bring him along for the ride by finally getting rid of him and install the wife as the sucessor. This was more like the King’s gambit since he was the one to be sacrificed.
Thing was, the bypassed cousin wanted the guarantee that after the Queen’s term ended, he would become the succesor, by whatever means. The Americans didn’t protest since he was always their boy from the beginning, even when the bypassed cousin was still a young man.
Notice how the Marcos’ have reconciled with Juan Ponce Enrile and Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. but never with Fidel Ramos until the day he died.
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