A response from former President Fidel V. Ramos

Last Thursday we wrote in this corner a column entitled, “What about FVR for President… again!” And it got me another deluge of emails from people from all walks of life and a lot of them congratulating me for urging former Pres. Fidel V. Ramos to run again for President especially in this Presidential elections where most people just cannot picture the front runners to become President of this nation.

But what I got was a classic response from no less than FVR himself, who sent me a book entitled Giving Back: Service and Legacy which is a collection of his Sunday columns in the Manila Bulletin. With it is a photocopy of my column last Thursday and the FVR note that he always writes on the side and sends me when he was still the President. Here’s his note in full:

“Thank you for this great accolade which I do not deserve…because although “The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.” I can still do 40 push-ups and shoot my age in golf (18-holes), but the Presidency of our beloved Philippines of 7,107 island (during high tide, and more during low tide) and 100 million people demands more than muscle. You and Rick and so many others are correct… our younger Filipinos deserve a better future which we, their elders, must continue to work for. Mabuhay! Signed Fidel Ramos.”

Thank you FVR for your quick response to our article. While his answer to me was not a categorical “No”, FVR and I agree that our young Filipinos deserve a better future. Hence, let me clarify what I think FVR ought to do first is for him to run for President and I’m sure that in no time, he will overtake everyone in the current surveys of Presidentiables. When he wins the Presidency, his first order of business is to call for a constitutional convention (con-con) and elect con-con delegates to change our Charter.

When that is done within a year or two, the new constitution where we will finally have a Parliamentary/Federal system would be ratified and then a few months later, new elections will be called, which would exempt all con-con delegates from running for any elective positions. Then Pres. Ramos can become the First Titular President of this new Philippines whose only powers is to abolish Parliament and call for new elections. No sir, we’re not asking FVR to run for another six boring years….but to reform our nation. I hope he accepts this challenge and the greatest legacy he can give to the Filipino people at the time he is needed the most.

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Last Friday, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) announced the winners in the individual and institution categories for the 6th RAFI Triennial Awards, the premier social development award in the Visayas and Mindanao. In the Exemplary Individual Category, the finalists were good governance advocate Fr. Carmelo Diola (Cebu City), Anita Castillon (Lake Sebu, South Cotabato), and Rep. Lawrence Lemuel Fortun (Butuan City).

The finalists in the Outstanding Institution Category are, Balay Mindanaw from Cagayan de Oro City, Cantaan Centennial Multi-purpose Cooperative from Guinsilaban, Camuiguin, Western Samar Development Foundation, Inc., Sibog Katawhan Alang sa Paglambo from San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, and the Kadtabanga Foundation for Peace Advocates, Inc. from Curbada Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. These finalists have their own stories to tell, they all work hard to help uplift the lives of our Filipino brethren.

The winner of the Exemplary Individual Category, the 6THTriennial Award goes to Mrs. Anita Castillon a.k.a. Nanay Anit from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. She is a remarkable teacher who built three schools in Lake Sebu dedicated to educate the T’boli Indigenous children. Nanay Anit was widowed at a very young age of 22 years old and she only had one daughter who now lives in the United States.

Jon Ramon Aboitiz told me that the dream of the majority of Filipinos is to get a US visa and live in the US. But despite the approved petition by her daughter for Nanay Anit to live with her in the US, she refused because someone had to take care of the T’boli children.

The Triennial Awards for Outstanding Institution category went to the Kadtabanga Foundation for Peace Advocates, Inc. (KFPDAI) from Curbada Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. The award was accepted by its Executive Director Hadja Giobay Diacolano. This 15-year old foundation literally turned 57 former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels into Peace and Development Advocates. These people did not have to wait for a Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to bring peace in their community.

So kudos to Hadja Diacolano for coming up with that foundation that brought real peace to that part of Maguindanao by turning gun toting rebels into Peace Advocates and to Nanay Anit for what she has done for the T’boli people, which is why the RAFI search committee found them to become the 6th Triennial Awardees for this awards cycle.

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