Ramos at the Inquirer: The President is still responsible and accountable as team leader and Commander in Chief. —GRIG MONTEGRANDE
Former President Fidel Ramos, the “No. 1 critic and supporter” of President Duterte, on Tuesday called on the latter to rein in his Cabinet, noting they were still disorganized nearly six months into his presidency.
In a frank assessment of the administration he had helped elect, Ramos also called on Mr. Duterte to broaden his perspective, clean up his language and show up as the President Filipinos deserve as their representative on the international stage.
Very well qualified
“The President comes into the presidency very well qualified, and he has a highly educated and highly professional composition of the Cabinet, as well as presidential assistants at the sub-cabinet level, all the way down the line,” said Ramos at the hourlong Meet the Inquirer Multimedia (MIM) forum on Tuesday.
“However, I am seeing that they are not yet organized as one Philippine team, which it should be,” he said, even as he called on every Filipino to also do their part.
First 100 days
Ramos, who has lately criticized Mr. Duterte for a poor showing in his first 100 days in office and for missing important international engagements, said the administration should have a broader approach to governance, noting the emphasis on the campaign against drugs.
“Let us not have a tunnel vision at the level of the leadership, which is the President, the Vice President, members of the cabinet, leaders of the Senate and the House,” said Ramos, whose counsel the President is known to take well.
Benefit of the doubt
“We must have a comprehensive appreciation of the nation’s problems, and we must proceed on a broad front with everybody participating,” said Ramos, adding that every Filipino has something to contribute.
In the same breath, he called on the public to give the country’s new leaders “the benefit of the doubt.”
Asked about the President’s brash and usually foul language, Ramos said Mr. Duterte should eventually learn to live up to his title.
Learning curve
“This must not be seen as representative of our 102 million Filipinos. After all, Filipinos are among the best cultured in our part of the world in Asia-Pacific, in terms of being proficient in English, in terms of being Christians mainly,” said Ramos.
“Because the President must represent the whole nation, at a certain point, maybe after he has completed his learning curve, he must transform to being our Presidential leader,” he said.
Ramos reprised his dig at the President for missing the gala dinner and photo opportunity with leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) at the recently held Leaders’ Summit in Peru this month, saying the President should always show up.
“I want you to know, I do not feel sleepy, I do not have jetlag, I don’t have a bad back and I don’t have loose bowel movement,” Ramos said at the start of the forum, in apparent reference to the President’s alibis for missing the important Apec events.
He showed up for the Inquirer MIM forum despite nursing a cough.
Juggling balls
“Anyway, for all of those little emergencies, I would have people to help me out in order that I can be present at a Leaders’ summit and be also there for the important photo of the leaders, because I represent the Philippines,” said Ramos, who led the Philippines’ hosting of the Apec summit in Manila in 1996.
He said the President should learn how to delegate his tasks without missing one.
“You just juggle the balls as they come in, toss them out without dropping any, to your cabinet, to your lawmakers, to lead conveners of the private sector. But whatever you do, pass it on to somebody else,” said the former President.
“You are still responsible and accountable because you are the team leader and the commander-in-chief,” said Ramos.