Fidel V. Ramos - Criticisms

Criticisms

Ramos was accused of condoning human rights violations due to his role in the declaration of martial law during the Marcos era; he was the commanding officer of the Philippine Constabulary and the Integrated National Police, and one of the most trusted and favored generals of Marcos, as well as a cousin.

Like many Philippine presidents, Ramos was also accused of profiting from or orchestrating irregular government projects. The PEA-AMARI Manila Bay reclamation deal, the conversion of the military base in Fort Bonifacio for private development, the Centennial Expo project and the Benpres-North Luzon Expressway are alleged to have been conducted dishonestly. An inquiry by the Senate later produced testimonies showing how P1.7 billion in bribe money sealed the Amari deal with the Public Estates Authority and Malacañang under Ramos. Accusations were not proven to the level of Ramos but the Supreme Court ultimately voided the PEA-AMARI sale for being unconstitutional, and in early August 2008, the Sandiganbayan suspended four government auditors and five PEA officials for their role in the anomalous deal. In February 1999, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee of the 11th Congress recommended the prosecution of ex-President Ramos and eight others for “technical malversation or misapplication of public funds” in connection with Centennial Expo scam, a recommendation not approved by the Senate, but pursued in the Sandigan Bayan against 6 of his high-ranking officials who were eventually exonerated. Ramos was eventually cleared by Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, a Ramos appointee who refused to inhibit himself from hearing the high-profile case.

Role in EDSA 2 ouster of President Joseph Estrada

A longstanding criticism of Ramos was whether his role in the Estrada ouster was motivated by his fear of being prosecuted in connection with the Centennial Expo and other scams. When Estrada was given executive clemency after having been found guilty of plunder by the special Sandiganbayan court in September 2007, Ramos heavily criticized Arroyo's decision. Estrada's son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, retaliated by asking Ramos to first "come clean" on the alleged multi-billion-peso anomalies involved in the PEA-AMARI, IPP and other deals negotiated during his term.

Unsound Economic Policies

Leftist groups have also criticized Ramos for his economic reforms such as privatization, deregulation and trade liberalization, claiming that the economic growth posted during his presidency was "artificial." They blamed him for the slowdown of the Philippine economy during the 1997 East Asian financial crisis. The sale of 40% of Petron to Aramco is specifically criticized for resulting in the loss of the government's effective leverage on domestic oil prices.

In 1998, Ramos hesitantly admitted that, contrary to what his government earlier claimed, the economic fundamentals of the country may actually be unsound. His admission came following the discovery of a secret memorandum issued by the National Economic Development Authority director-general uring the president to tell the Filipinos the truth about the state of the economy and that they ought to prepare for worse. According to former University of the Philippines president Francisco Nemenzo, Ramos "has done nothing to reverse or slow down the implementation" of the harmful IMF-imposed structural reforms.