Former Philippines president urges solid mandate
| • | Arroyo wins close Philippine election |
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo must cement her narrow election victory among government and grassroots organizations to forge the mandate she failed to win in the popular vote, one of her predecessors said last night.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
But Fidel Ramos, who served from 1992-1998, described the May 10 polling in general as an "honest, orderly, peaceful election."
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos spoke to members of the local Filipino community, including Ethel Ward of Kane'ohe, left, at the Philippine Consulate. Ramos is in the United States promoting investment in his country.
That description's acronym, HOPE, is significant, Ramos said.
"Translation: The Philippines is OK," he added, speaking at a press conference held at the Philippine Consulate last night. "All the scenarios predicted by the analysts didn't take place."
Ramos arrived Sunday for a three-day stay on his way home after a tour of U.S. cities with his nonprofit Ramos Peace and Development Foundation, promoting the Philippines as a welcome haven for investment and economic opportunity.
Although the Philippine Congress is still continuing the official "canvassing" — the final tallying of votes cast and counted manually in the disparate provinces of the country — unofficial tallies released yesterday indicate Arroyo had a lead of about 3 percent over her nearest rival, Fernando Poe Jr. That converts to a margin of around 900,000 votes, the officials said.
That's comparable to Ramos' margin of 874,000 votes in 1992, when he topped a field of seven candidates.
What he did in the weeks following his election — and what he's urged Arroyo to do if the final results confirm her victory — is to nail down her mandate after the fact.
"I have advised President Arroyo, as recently as two weeks ago, before I left on my trip, to go around in her own way to win a mandate for supporting her programs," he said.
Ramos acknowledged the widespread reports of vote-buying, adding that this "continuing problem" results from conducting a direct election in the country's far-flung regions. The Philippines would do better, he said, to adopt a parliamentary system in which the lawmakers, elected by their own constituents, in turn elect the president.
Ramos said he warned Poe, a movie star, about the challenges of Filipino electoral politics before the candidate finally tossed his hat into the ring.
"He asked me what it's like to be president. I said, 'You're like a juggler with 10 balls in the air. And your feet are not on the ground. You're up on the high wire. And your feet aren't on the high wire: You're on a bicycle, trying hard not to be pulled down."
He paused and smiled: "He decided to run, anyway . . . and he's a pretty good juggler, judging by the way he ran his campaign."
The former president attended economic briefings in New York, Atlanta and San Francisco before stopping in Honolulu, promoting Philippine business alliances with the U.S. and key Asian markets, particularly China.
Ramos, who met community leaders at a consulate-hosted forum last night, is planning stops today at the Filipino Community Center, the Waipahu Cultural Garden Park and the East-West Center. He also is set to meet at Camp Smith with Lt. Gen. Robert R. Dierker, deputy commander of the Pacific Command.
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.
