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By Anthony Vargas And
Angelo S. Samonte, Reporters
Former President Fidel Ramos on
Friday bewailed how the gains of the 1986 and 2001 people power
revolts were lost due to “greed, corruption, and apathy.”
Malacañang ignored Ramos’
swipe, saying the government of President Gloria Arroyo is serious
in stamping out corruption. President Arroyo was herself present
when Ramos made the remarks.
Ramos, a key figure in the 1986
uprising that ousted then-President Ferdinand Marcos, called on
Filipinos to act against perceived socio-political problems.
“History might yet call us to
come together again … to offer our lives and fortunes on the altar
of our civic leader,” he said in his speech during a wreath-laying
at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Fort Bonifacio, Makati City.
Mrs. Arroyo and top military and
police officials were also present during the ceremony that signaled
the start of the celebration of the 22nd anniversary of the 1986
revolt, or EDSA 1.
Ramos said “oligarchies,
dynasties, and opportunists” have not been banished and that gains
from EDSA 1 have been lost to corruption.
“It’s customary nowadays to
denigrate the EDSA events, perhaps, because the greed, the apathy,
the corruption we brought down then … are once again rearing their
heads,” he added.
In 1986, the military played a
big role in deposing Marcos and in 2001, then-President Joseph
Estrada.
“Filipinos have always found it
easier to die for our country … than to live for it. [In] time of
peace and social stability, we seem to fritter away in bickering, in
quarreling like crabs caught in a bamboo trap … with each one
pursuing his or her self-interest,” Ramos said.
The former president added that
the country has earned a dubious international reputation as a
corrupt one ruled by new forms of tyranny.
“Around the world, the
Philippine included, there are new tyrannies in the form of
self-serving leaders … immoderately greedy, autocrats, and cliques
of corrupt officials that we still confront,” Ramos said.
At the height of the “Hello,
Garci” scandal in 2005, he stood by Mrs. Arroyo.
The scandal linked her to
cheating in the 2004 elections and led to calls for her resignation.
President Arroyo is facing fresh
calls for her to step down, sparked by allegations of corruption in
the botched $330-million broadband deal.
Her Executive Secretary, Eduardo
Ermita, said he does not think Ramos’ remarks were directed at
Mrs. Arroyo.
Ramos’ message was seen by many
as an invitation to the public to take action on the current
political turmoil, but, Ermita said, they in Malacañang see it
differently.
After the ceremony, the former
president told reporters that his speech was not a call for a
massive demonstration against the Arroyo administration. He said the
Libingan ng mga Bayani is not a venue for politicking.
He urged the public as well as
government officials to focus more on matters more important than
the broadband controversy.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye
said while the government is serious in combating corruption, it has
a long way to go in achieving its objective.
“The fight versus corruption is
a continuous effort at all levels of the bureaucracy and the good
things is, the President is doing something about it. We have a long
way to go on these problems,” he added.
Bunye said he supports the calls
of some groups wanting to put an end to the probe of the broadband
deal so that the country could move forward.
“The Senate has its own rules
if they want to probe Jun Lozada, but I believe that he should be
investigated by another forum, and I’d refer to the Ombudsman. I
hope we can put an end to this once and for all,” he added. Jun
Lozada is Rodolfo Lozada Jr., a key witness to alleged brokering for
bribes in the deal with China’s ZTE Corp. He has linked Mrs.
Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, and resigned poll
chief Benjamin Abalos Sr. to the bribery. They both denied the
allegations.
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