Skip to main content

Remembering Fidel V. Ramos' Economic Legacy


Today is the 13th death anniversary of the late Maria Corazon S. Cojuangco-Aquino. Fidel V. Ramos at the Makati Medical Center on July 31, 2022. Ramos' health was already failing. Having been born in the 1980s means that I would've passed through childhood with the late Mrs. Aquino and the late Ramos. I was too young to understand back then. There was the study of Philippine history for more than six years under the old curriculum. The civics and culture subject studied the rights and duties of citizenship, and Filipino culture. In Tagalog, it was called sibika at kultura and the subject was taught in Tagalog for the first three years of my life. Mrs. Aquino stepped down and Ramos became the president shortly after. 

Ramos' legacy in the eyes of Singapore's great leader, the late Lee Kuan Yew

I was reading through Lee Kuan Yew's masterpiece From Third World to First. There were also lessons about what Filipinos can learn. Sadly, some people read from it only to discredit incumbent Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. Reading the book from a real expert (instead of hearsay from social media gossipers) gave me more insights. I'm amazed that social media gossipers should use the book but only in portions. As said, it's cherry-picking and history is always based on facts and not gossip. It was fascinating to read about Lee Kuan Yew's encounter with the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., Mrs. Aquino, the late Cesar Virata (who he called no political leader), and Ramos. Ramos was a man who wanted to reform the constitution. However, that was met with so much opposition built on ignorance and fear. These words by Lee Kuan Yew should ring a bell on Pages 304-305:
Mrs. Aquino's successor, Fidel Ramos, whom she had backed, was more practical and established greater stability. In November 1992, I visited him. In a speech to the 18th Business conference, I said, "I do not believe democracy necessarily leads to development. I believe what a country needs to develop is discipline more than democracy." In private, President Ramos said he agreed with me that British parliamentary-type constitutions worked better because the majority party in the legislature was also the government. Publicy, Ramos had to differ.

He knew well the difficulties of trying to govern with strict American-style separation of powers. The senate had already defeated Mrs. Aquino's proposal to retain the American bases. The Philippines had a rambunctious press but it did not check corruption. Something had gone seriously wrong. Millions of Filipino men and women had to leave their country for jobs abroad beneath their level of education. Filipino professionals whom we recruited to work in Singapore are as good as our own. Indeed, their architects, artists, and musicians are more artistic and creative than ours. Hundreds of thousands of them have left for Hawaii and for American mainland. It is a problem the solution to which has not been made easier by the workings of a Philippine version of an American constitution.

The next works are all about the quote which is often used to discredit the Marcoses. Personally, I still believe in what Lee Kuan Yew said about the Marcoses. I still think about the stories I heard about how the Marcos Years weren't the golden years after all. Though, I guess Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated Marcos Jr. out of courtesy. I think it was no different when Lee Hsien Loong offered his condolences when Aquino III died from complications of renal failure secondary to diabetes. Both are acts of diplomatic relations between nations. Marcos Jr. won the presidency, congratulations. Aquino III died from complications of renal failure secondary to diabetes, condolences. 

A side of Ramos that I never saw during the 1990s and for some time

I could remember growing up in the 1990s. Back then, there was hardly any Internet, and owning a PC was a luxury. In fact, one time I said I was richer than someone because we had a PC. The Internet was still the dial-up modem. I was even a victim of a fake Internet promo that demanded I pay for the fee. If it was limited then if my time was up--shouldn't it be just cut? Having no Internet back then meant that research and homework were hard to get. More often than not, it was easy to get into a fight whenever my PC or printer broke. I really hated using that paper-eating monster called the typewriter. I guess a lack of Internet connection and not knowing how to use search engines was a problem. Back then, I even remembered I used Ask Jeeves (a search engine) as a source. In college, I remember a professor of mine at the University of San Carlos (USC) said that Google isn't a proper source. Google should always be regarded as what it is--a search engine. 

Talks and gossip about Ramos becoming a dictator were already on. It was in 1996 and I feared martial law may return. What I didn't know (back then) is that a president may declare martial law under the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines which was martial law under Article VII. This martial law can't be declared at any time either. A definition of martial law is when the military takes over when normal peacekeepers can't. A time of invasion such as the Marawi Siege was a good time to declare martial law. Military checkpoints were there, especially when the Maute Family had practically caused a lot of trouble. I went to Surigao City last 2017. I checked in at the  Tavern Hotel. I would say that I had a sense of security moving in between Butuan and Surigao. It was necessary to declare martial law because the Maute terrorists and their associates may move into the borders any time soon. 

The other talk of him becoming a dictator was talk of charter change. The charter change called "cha-cha" is often misrepresented. I remembered an editorial during the Aquino III administration (from a tabloid written in Cebuano) of former Philippine president (and congresswoman) Gloria M. Macapagal-Arroyo dancing the cha-cha with the lawmakers. During Ramos' time, I feared Ramos might become a tyrant any time soon. I remembered panicking and pinching somebody's ear out of anger when I asked about updates on Ramos. I even remembered getting into hot water with my civics teacher because I vandalized my textbook by putting an X on Ramos' face. Charter change (better termed as constitutional reform) is often confused with term extension, removal of term limits to ruling for life, and the misconceptions can go on. What's often ignored is that a parliamentary system has no term limits in the sense of fixed term limits. Meanwhile, a person's term in the parliament can be limited by disqualification from the parliament. 

It was 1997 and Ramos' term was about to end. He had spoken about the need to reform the constitution. It only created a backlash. In my case, I was afraid that he could become a tyrant. What I never realized was that some countries were under a long benevolent rule. I was told that the six years only limit for the president was to prevent any more power abuse. Yet, the late Saloth Sar (more infamously known as Pol Pot) ruled Cambodia for five years but it was a reign of terror worse than what the Philippines experienced. Idi Amin ruled Uganda for eight years and it was also a reign of terror. Meanwhile, Lee Kuan Yew ruled Singapore for 31 years and his son, Lee Hsien Loong, ruled Singapore from 2004 up to the present. It means Lee Hsien Loong ruled Singapore while the Philippines changed presidents a lot. Right now, I even want to think Ramos had a lot of programs that made it six years wasn't enough. Aquino III had several infrastructure projects (such as the Second Mactan Airport and the CCLEX in Cebu City) that were left unfinished because of the six-year limit.

The Global Leadership Foundation describes this of Ramos during his six-year reign: 
Public Office 
Fidel Ramos was President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. Under his leadership the Philippines experienced a period of political stability and rapid economic growth and expansion.

Prior to his election as president, Fidel Ramos served as Secretary of National Defence (1988-1991) and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (1986-1988) with the rank of General.

As President, Fidel Ramos’s policies and programmes to foster national reconciliation and unity led to major peace agreements with Muslim separatists, communist insurgents and military rebels, which renewed investor confidence in the Philippine economy. Ramos pushed for the deregulation of key industries and the liberalization of the economy. He encouraged the privatization of public entities, to include the modernization of public infrastructure through the expanded Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) law. During the years 1993-1997, the Philippine economy recovered dramatically. Gross National Product averaged 5 percent annually, the total inflow of foreign exchange into the country outpaced that of the combined periods of rule of both Presidents Marcos and Aquino, and the average income of the Filipino family grew more during Ramos’ administration than in the preceding two decades. This allowed Fidel Ramos’ government to implement a comprehensive Social Reform Agenda (SRA) that addressed long-standing problems regarding poverty, health, education and skills training, housing, environmental protection, children and the youth, the elderly and the handicapped, jobs and livelihood, agrarian reform and access to equal opportunity.

The peace agreement which Ramos brokered with military rebels and the MNLF southern secessionists won for him (together with Chairman Nur Misuari) and the Philippines the coveted 1997 UNESCO Peace Prize – the first for Asians. His public service spanned a total period of 51 years.

However, six years isn't enough to really make a difference. One can say that the Philippines became a rising tiger under Aquino III's administration. Former Philippine Rodrigo R. Duterte may have made some bad decisions too. However, Duterte was right to sign the Public Services Act of 2022. Duterte critic Andrew James Masigan did mention it was better late than never. What I appreciate about Masigan is the way he criticized Duterte's wrong decisions--it was focused on improving the economy than derailing the person. Masigan wrote a very professional critique on some of Duterte's policies. Masigan was a long proponent of opening up of the economy to develop the economy. I wrote about how opening the Philippines to 100% shares ownership will be beneficial to developing the national industry (read here). If there was one reason why Aquino III brought some stability (and please, lower gasoline prices aren't one of them)--Global Risks Insights talks about foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow during that term. Aquino III did work on easing certain sectors from the negative list. Duterte also did well to sign the Public Services Act of 2022. However, I felt that the Public Services Act should've been made urgent last 2016 before starting the Build Build Build program. That's why I agree with Masigan as an economist even if he and I have different political spectrums.

Just reading what the Global Leadership Foundation said made me regret why I even feared Ramos back then. Again, I was only 11 years old back then, and not doing well in school. Ramos deserved the UNESCO Peace Prize. I think about how his economic policies by amending the Foreign Investment Act of 1991 managed to help the Philippines survive the crisis. Yet, there was a time, in high school (when I no longer feared Ramos) when I mentioned him in my Asian history essay. Too bad that I'll have to ask my high school to give me my test paper from the archives. I lost a lot of my academic papers in high school because my first PC is now as good as gone. My second PC is also good as gone. Thankfully, the knowledge learned hasn't been gone just yet. Ramos had good economic policies that kept the Philippines afloat. 

Ramos did make a few mistakes too. Ramos, back then, almost cut ties with Singapore after the execution of Flor Contemplacion. Fortunately, Ramos decided to restore ties with Singapore. This caused people to get angered especially with the event regarding Contemplacion's death. It was in 1995 when it happened--the same year when The Flor Contemplacion Story hit the theaters. The strain was fortunately resolved between the two countries. However, some people (such as "think tanks" like Migrante International) still stuck with the same story that Contemplacion was "innocent" even when evidence said otherwise. It was a wise decision of Ramos to make amends with Singapore. Singapore should remain an important business partner for the Philippines. 

Why I also support Ramos' desire for the Philippines to go parliamentary

Why did Ramos (and neither did any of his successors) turn the Philippines into another Singapore? The difference lies in the form of governance. As mentioned earlier, Lee Kuan Yew didn't transform Singapore from a third-world country to a first-world country in just one term. Aquino III also had infrastructure projects that weren't started because of his fixed term. I believe Aquino III should've supported the shift to parliamentary. Just imagine it if Ramos had more than one term. Just imagine it if Ramos himself were prime minister instead of president. Just imagine it if Mrs. Aquino remained as a national symbol of unity for Filipinos while Ramos led the country in 1986 up to a certain period in time. Ramos would have had more time not just to make good projects but to also implement them. 

The parliamentary government would also have an opposition that would question the government and hold it accountable. Having a healthy opposition with an official role works better in preventing tyrants from rising than a one-term only for presidents. As mentioned earlier, Idi Amin and Pol Pot barely ruled for a decade but those guys were brutal tyrants. Mao Zedong was a tyrant not because he ruled China long. Instead, Mao was an uncontested dictator. Lee Kuan Yew ruled for 31 years having to face a formal opposition, had to do well if he expected to serve another term, and parliamentary systems have better checks and balances. That's why I want to have a parliamentary Philippines (read here). It wouldn't be magic but it will provide the right tools to help create better governance. 

If we were a parliamentary right now, we would have former Philippine Vice President, Atty. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo wouldn't be heading an NGO called Angat Buhay--something she created during her term as the vice president. Instead, Mrs. Robredo would've already marched in the Philippine Parliament with her fellow Liberal Party of the Philippines members. Mrs. Robredo would serve as the Leader of the Opposition and have a shadow cabinet. Marcos Jr. and his cabinet are directly faced with Mrs. Robredo's shadow cabinet. Any policies Marcos Jr.'s government wants to make must be questioned directly by Mrs. Robredo and her shadow cabinet. Mrs. Robredo and her team represent the minority bloc. Mrs. Robredo will have her own set of appointees that will reflect Marcos Jr.'s appointees. Every minister of a certain department will have a shadow minister of a certain department. 

Right now, I want to see Ramos' vision realized. It must not die with him. Instead, I'm among those who will now say that we need to reform an already outdated constitution. We need to have a parliamentary system for better economic policies as a result of better transparency. 

References

Books 

"From Third World to First--The Singapore Story: 1965-2000) by Lee Kuan Yew
Harpers Collins Publishers 

Websites

"3. Parliamentary qualifications and disqualifications"


"Fidel Valdez Ramos, President, Republic of the Philippines 1992-98"

"Flor Contemplacion" by Valerie Chew

"Long overdue laws finally passed" by Andrew J. Masigan (April 06, 2022)

"THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES – ARTICLE VII"

"The legacy of Philippines President Benigno Aquino" by Laura Southgate (August 25, 2015)

"Why Dutertenomics weakened the economy" by Andrew J. Masigan (July 18, 2021)

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Open FDI Equals CHINA?!

This is an interesting drawing I found on Facebook. It's often used to portray people who look at the removal of the unnecessarily restrictive 60-40 shares ownership policy as, "The current president's gift to China." The same was done during former Philippine president Atty. Rodrigo R. Duterte. The same was also done with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. It makes me think of stupid comments written by idiots on Facebook. It would be ironic if a lot of anti-FDI and anti-American rants were made not only on Facebook but also were typed using Apple gadgets of all things! They may be quick to use whatever irrational reasons. Some reasons can range from foreigners "unfairly" owning the means to produce equipment (read here ) and that they're simply forced to participate in the capitalist economy model to survive (read here ). However, I must ask if these guys were forced to use the luxury brands they're using (read here ). As the map shows, s
Read more

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics Will Ultimately Hurt the WORKING CLASS

Cartoonist Zach Some people claim to fight for the working class--while refusing to work themselves. Some people claim to fight for the working class--while supporting policies that will prove detrimental to the working class. One of these policies is #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba--meaning to raise salaries and lower prices. I wrote some time ago about why #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba doesn't work . However, I'lm still attacked by Ad Homimens and Nom Sequiturs. How's that even possible anyway? Economics isn't magic! If President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr.'s promise of PHP 20.00 kilo rice is absurd--so is the promise of #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics!  Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020 I don't need a PhD in economics to understand cost accounting. The income statement would include salaries as part of the cost. The cost of goods sold includes salaries. Marketing and promotions include salaries. General and administrative would include salaries. Pa
Read more

Is Anybody Willing to Prove Filipino First Policy Has a Place in the Rising Asian Century for a Million Pesos, Tax Free?

Yesterday was the birthday of former president Carlos P. Garcia, who died in 1971. Garcia is often associated with the Filipino First Policy. Back in the 1990s, I remember how Filipino First Policy was taught in values education classes --never mind the glaring contradictions. The contradictions are that imported equipment was used, or that we can literally never escape the use of imported equipment. I wrote an article discussing why Garcia's Filipino First Policy has no place in the rising Asian Century . I haven't done academic work right now, having been disgruntled by the Filipino education system. Sadly, not even graduate school taught me the basics of stock market investment (such as equity funds) or how Cash 2 Go works. That's why some people say, "It's just a degree!" I often said, "Well your doctor went to college, your lawyer went to college, etc." However, it looks like a college degree may not be for everyone, under K+12!  Some people are
Read more

Millions of Studies from the Trust Me Bro School of Economics Show #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Business Model Works

Happy Labor Day anyone? It's this time of the year when labor groups like Kilusang Mayo Uno (literally the May One Movement) would protest. They would raise banners demanding #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba. For those who don't speak Tagalog, it means raising salaries and lowering the prices of goods. However, basic cost accounting will tell you that salaries are part of the cost of production . People ignore facts and choose their feelings a lot . I tell them that salaries are part of the cost of production (no need for a Ph. D for that, which I no longer aim to get) but they just sneer at it . They think the government has absolute control over the economy like magic . Members of Filipino labor groups may even say that wage hikes aren't inflationary even when evidence shows otherwise.  The  Economics Help   website presents why doing so can actually  worsen  inflation: Wage Push Inflation.  If labour is able to push for higher wages, despite lower growth, then we could get a combi
Read more

What's the Use of Complaining About Jollibee Acquiring Companies BUT Not Accepting Open FDI to Bring in COMPETITION to the Philippines?

Anti-Snowflake Squad Facebook Page I was checking across Facebook and noticed some idiots complaining about Jollibee acquiring companies. The same idiots turned out to be anti-FDI--the same group that converses with Porky Madugo and Mukhang Adik. As usual, I will not directly link the idiots (or even reveal them directly, they will reveal themselves) to avoid giving them clout. Here's a statement by Porky that may make anyone wonder if (1) he knows he's lying (which I think he is for some self-serving reason ), or (2) he doesn't know what he's talking about: The monopolization of business ruins the business. It degrades the quality of the business of a product.   If you think monopolization is good, that's stupidity. It kills the competition and it kills the business.   Well, as old saying goes: "capitalists are the only one will destroy themselves." Since when did capitalism mean killing competition? Isn't Porky supposedly a die-hard Communist? In the
Read more

La Salsa: The Delicious Filipino-Mexican Cantina at Lahug, Cebu City

La Salsa Facebook Page I've eaten at La Salsa Twice. I've tried eating at El Taquito (which is probably no longer operational in Cebu) and El Loco (which closed down years ago). I've eaten the Mexican American style of Red Lizard (read here ). La Salsa Filipino-Mexican Cantina offers a delicious blend of Mexican food for the Filipino customer. It's another experience for delicious Mexican-style cooking.  I've tried their beef fajita and enchilada. These are some of my favorite Mexican foods. For my first two dine-ins--I felt the cozy atmosphere of a home . I expected the enchiladas to be thinner but they are thicker. Perhaps, it's a different enchilada than the one I ate years ago. Both are delicious in their own way. I enjoyed the huger serving of enchilada.  Right now, it's still the soft opening. Some items won't be available at the moment. Based on my own personal review, I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys fusion cooking. I love h
Read more

Forget About Open FDI, Let's Open #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Stores Instead

A really disastrous decision! Before the Buwan ng Wika ends, I want to write about those who have been demanding "Sahod itaas! Presyo ibaba!" (Raise salaries, lower prices). Back in 2022, I wrote an article discussing why the demands for higher salaries, lower prices of goods, and handouts for all are a recipe for disaster . I could laugh at people who believed in the promise of PHP 20.00 per kilo of rice promise of Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Before that, people had been demanding #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba during the reigns of the late former president Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III and former president Rodrigo R. Duterte.  Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020 I did explain why the model doesn't work. In the cost of production, you need to account for everything that happens including salaries . Raising salaries during inflation can actually worsen the situation . It's because sticky inflation happens with cost-push factors (ex. cost of gasoline, co
Read more

A Fun Song to Start Learning the New Pinyin Sequence

I was looking for a song in relation to the BoPoMoFo. In my case, I'm prone to calling Pinyin "BoPoMoFo" until today (read here ). It's because Pinyin basically serves the same purpose as Zhuyin--teaching one how to read Chinese. I'd like to say that I got too comfortable with this old sequence: I may hate memorizing Zhuyin but I like treating Pinyin in the same sequence. The new table which uses the 23 initials-24 finals method (read here ) can be confusing. Some old-timers may have an easier time transliterating the Zhuyin into Pinyin. However, I still find the new sequence confusing. I may no longer remember Zhuyin (and I kept failing at it and kept memorizing sentences without understanding) but I can remember Pinyin. Except my memorization of the Pinyin was in the BoPoMoFo sequence.  With more than a billion Chinese speakers worldwide--can we keep using the old books to teach Mandarin? That's why I wrote about why the old Chinese textbooks can't be us
Read more

"But the Philippines Isn't Taiwan!" is Just Another Lame Excuse to Justify Filipino First Policy

Atlas Institute for Internal Affairs   Happy Double 10 to Taiwan! Chinese Filipino schools would take part in what's often called the Double 10 celebrations. October is the 10th month and it's the 10th day. I remember talking about how Taiwan succeeded by accepting FDIs and how the Filipino First Policy caused us to fail . The typical response I would get on American-made social media (of all places), such as Facebook, would be, "How many times do I need to stress that the Philippines isn't Taiwan. We are the Philippines! We are unique!" If those fools did a study, they may realize that there's a link between the Taiwanese aborigines and the Filipino aborigines (read here ). The Philippines should've learned from Taiwan during COVID-19 One of the best models for fighting COVID-19 was Taiwan. Sure, I'm more in favor of shifting to a parliamentary system and Taiwan is still a presidential country (with parliamentary features).  Former Taiwanese president
Read more

The Pinaskohan Mentality is Keeping Poor Filipinos, POOR

Philippine Star Is it me or is the Christmas Season really that toxic in the Philippines? I wrote an article about the irony of early Christmas season with late Christmas shopping . I didn't think about writing this but is it me or do people like to ask for impunity during the Christmas season? Think about that toxic former friend or former romantic partner. You cut off that person because of the toxic behavior he or she shows. However, you meet at a public place during the -ber months. The person says, "Let's reconcile! It's Christmas!" I can be open to reconciliation with classmates with who I had a childish quarrel back in high school. So far, one of the people I had a childish grudge wasn't  a toxic person. The reason why I feel I can reconcile with that person is because he's productive . The same can't be said for people who have a toxic attitude.  What do several Filipinos look forward to during Christmas? Would it be just the spiritual signific
Read more