Step down to level the playing field.

Former President Fidel V. Ramos on Wednesday told President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign from her post as she pursues a House of Representatives seat in next year’s election.

At a press conference at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Ramos said that while there is no legal impediment to Mrs. Arroyo’s congressional bid, her position as President gives her undue advantage in her forthcoming electoral campaign in Pampanga’s second district, the same report added.

“My understanding of that particular aspect of governance is that as president, you must resign your position,” he said.

Last July, Ramos said those in power should step down in time. He made the statement amid speculations that time that President Arroyo was attempting to perpetuate herself in power by compelling her allies at the House of Representatives to amend the 1987 Constitution.

The move could pave the way for a shift to a parliamentary form of government where Mrs. Arroyo could have a chance to be elected prime minister.

At the news conference, Ramos likewise questioned Mrs. Arroyo’s more than 50 visits to Pampanga this year.

“Why did she have to spend so much time (in Pampanga) instead of making 50 trips to Mindanao to ensure the peace and tranquility of those communities and to put in place feudal warlords,” Ramos said.

Palace retorts

But President Arroyo’s political spokesperson Romulo Macalintal said Malacañang would not give in to Ramos’s call.

“Wala namang le-leveling the playing field e, wala namang kalaban ang Pangulong Arroyo (There is no field to be leveled, President Arroyo has no opponent there),” he told GMANews.TV over the phone, adding that Mrs. Arroyo ” has no serious political rival” in her district.

“I’m sorry to disappoint the former president but President Arroyo will not give in to his request,” Macalintal added, even as he said the Palace respects Ramos’ views.

No prominent political candidate has filed a certificate of candidacy to challenge Mrs. Arroyo in the district. Only engineer Feliciano Serrano, architect Adonis Simpao, and a certain Filipinas Sampang have so far filed their COCs for the same position Mrs. Arroyo is eyeing.

Macalintal also said there was “no basis” to Ramos’ criticism of her frequent trips to Pampanga, pointing out that Mrs. Arroyo had also gone to Mindanao and other locations several times.

Not fair

This is not the first time that Ramos called on Mrs. Arroyo to relinquish her post if she is to pursue another elective post come the 2010 polls.

At a convention in Pasay City on November 23, Ramos said it would be unfair if Mrs. Arroyo runs for congresswoman while retaining her post.

“Eh hindi ka umalis pagkatapos tatakbo ka dito sa 2nd district of Pampanga, ito ang kalaban mo. Aba’y hindi yata patas yun, hindi democratic ‘yan di ba,” Ramos said then.

“You have the power of appointments, you are the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and the PNP (Philippine National Police), you are the controller of the budget, you are the President, you are the head of the state of government,” he added.

At the time, Mrs. Arroyo had not yet announced her electoral bid. - Sophia Dedace, Jam Sisante, Amita Legaspi, LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV

He has yet to name his preferred candidate in the 2010 candidates, but former President Fidel Ramos said the next Philippine leader should have a “green mind,” or one who has a solid environment platform.

Interviewed on the sidelines of the East Asian Seas Congress held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, Ramos said presidential aspirants should make plans on how the environment could be protected, preserved and enhanced.

“When we say we better take care of the environment, that is not just planting trees along the highway. You plant trees in the watershed up there in the mountains because that is where our clean water comes from when it rains and it must be preserved,” Ramos said.

He added that he would openly support “whoever has the green vision and green mind,” but quickly added that he was not referring to anybody in particular.

Among those seeking the presidency are former President Joseph Estrada, Senators Manuel Villar Jr. and Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, former defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Olongapo City Councilor JC de los Reyes, evangelist Eddie Villanueva, environment Nicanor Perlas and former public works secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.

3 factors

Ramos said a clear platform on the environment is one of the three “21st century factors for leadership” a presidential aspirant in 2010 should have to get his endorsement. The other two are platforms on population and sustainable development.

Ramos claimed that “all” aspirants have been approaching him to solicit his support.

“Lahat naman nakikiusap sa akin. Ako naman ganito rin ang sinasabi ko (They are talking to me, but all I told them was what I’m looking for in a leader),” he said.

Asked when he will announce his choice, Ramos said it would come when somebody agrees to push the three advocacies he mentioned.

“It is too early right now to make any specific choices. Wala pa akong nakikita pero baka magkaroon din (I may have to pick one)” Ramos said, adding that the platforms of the aspirants are “still to be seen.”

He said an aspirant should also provide for quality population by making everyone a stakeholder in the protection, enhancement and preservation of the environment; and address poverty and provide opportunity for the people.

Advise to presidential aspirants

“One cannot escape the other so our leaders, incumbent as well as presidentiables, must think and act and plan in these terms,” the former state leader said.

He also advised the aspirants to be connected to the people.

“Another is connectivity. If our presidentiables are just confined to their sectors, their families or dynasties or oligarchies instead of reaching out, then they will not last for long,” he said.

Ramos said the period of strategizing and visioning is not confined to the period from the election to the next one or even six years or three years. “It is multi-generational. That’s how to build a nation.” - RSJ/KK, GMANews.TV

Former Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane on Sunday announced his presidential aspiration in next year’s elections and said he is looking for the endorsement of former President Fidel V. Ramos.

Ebdane, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) prior to his retirement from police service, made the announcement during the national convention of labor party, Philippine Labor and Peasant Party (PLPP) (formerly Lapiang Manggagawa) in Manila Hotel.

“I hope and pray that he (Ramos) will endorse me, he is credible,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the party’s 46th founding anniversary.

The celebration also implemented the change on the party’s name from Lapiang Manggagawa to Philippine Labor and Peasant Party.

Ebdane, who was also proclaimed as the PLPP’s national chairman, said his priorities if ever he is elected to Malacañang include peace and order, national security, defense, and public works.

Noting his unpopularity, Ebdane assured the public that he would be a good leader based on the experiences he had conquered in his years as a public servant.

“And with accumulated experience and know-how, I believe I stand as the candidate with the first-hand working knowledge of how government really works and the track record to get things done,” he said.

The party is yet to pick Ebdane’s running-mate as well as its candidates for senators.

Ebdane said that as the new PLPP chairman, he has full authority to organize the party for the electoral exercise in 2010.

Ebdane is a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 1970 and has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) from the Mapúa Institute of Technology. He was the 10th PNP chief, serving from July 2002 to August 2004.

After serving as the chief of the PNP, Ebdane was named National Security Adviser, a post he held from August 2004 to February 2005. He later served as secretary of the Department of National Defense. He was re-appointed to the DPWH in February 2007 but quit last month to prepare for the 2010 polls. - GMANews.TV

With the blessing of his uncle former President Fidel V. Ramos, Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza took oath Friday as the newest member of the Liberal Party, explaining that his decision to bolt Lakas-Kampi went beyond party considerations.

In an interview with reporters, Braganza said he asked permission from Ramos, founder of Lakas whom he considers as his political father. His uncle then gave his blessings, rendering his cross-over official.

“That is a good decision on your part,” Braganza quoted Ramos as saying.

Braganza was reelected as mayor of Alaminos City in Pangasinan in 2007 under the banner of Lakas-CMD, which earlier this year merged with the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) to become Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

Prior to the merger, Braganza was Lakas-CMD’s deputy secretary general and one of the party’s leaders in Luzon.

Ramos, one of the founders of Lakas-CMD, had opposed the merger, saying proper procedures such as consultation with the national directorate of Lakas-CMD regarding the merger were not done. [See: FVR nixes offer to be Lakas-Kampi chair emeritus].

Braganza was on his second term as congressman of Pangasinan’s 1st district when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed him Agrarian Reform secretary in February 2001.

He stayed at the post until 2003, when he was appointed Press Secretary. He left the post a year later to run as mayor of Alaminos City.

Had Ramos asked him not to change his affiliation, Braganza said, he would have deferred his plan.

He said his decision to join the campaign of Senators Benigno Simeon Aquino III and Manuel Roxas II, LP’s presidential and vice presidential bets respectively, is personal to him and goes beyond party considerations.

He admitted however that he has misgivings about his former party, since Kampi fielded a candidate to run against him in the last elections.

“Technically, ako yung incumbent, ba’t nyo ako palalabanan ng kakampi din natin (I’m the incumbent, so why would you allow one of our partymates to fight me)? I would understand kung ang kalaban ko (if my adversary) comes from the opposition party pero ang inilaban nyo sa akin kakampi ng partido natin (but you set a party ally to run against me),” he said.

Braganza added: “So where do I stand in a situation wherein I’m one of the original founders of Lakas…I was sure na tatalunin ko naman yung kandidato nila (that I would defeat their candidate) but still ang sabi ko (I told them) you don’t take care of your family in that way. Is that fair? Hindi naman siguro (I think not).” - with reports from Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV