FVR suggests GMA cut short her term in 2007

Former President Fidel Ramos is not joining the political opposition or abandoning President Arroyo. But he says a "better solution" would be for her to step down by 2007, "declare her intentions" to relinquish power and join the race for parliament.

"This is the sacrifice we are asking" of her, Ramos told a news conference in his Makati City office, and stressed that it would erase any questions about the President’s credibility: "She can be Joan of Arc without having to be burned at the stake."

He said his support for Mrs. Arroyo — "or anyone, for that matter" — remained incidental and secondary to the nation’s interest.

The former president also disclosed yesterday he had turned down offers from the opposition to sign a "covenant" or an agreement with former presidents Corazon Aquino and Joseph Estrada in a bid to force Mrs. Arroyo out of office.

Ramos reiterated his support for Mrs. Arroyo — although somewhat "waning" — but added it hinged on her stand on his proposal that she step down in 2007 to pave the way for changes in the 1987 Constitution.

"Let’s wait and see. There could be good and bad developments coming," he said.

Last year, Ramos had prodded Mrs. Arroyo to step down in 2006. It would be her "graceful exit" from the worst political crisis to hit her administration, he said, and it would pave the way for a new parliamentary government. But the deadline apparently was pushed back due to the process to amend the Constitution.

In a press briefing yesterday, Ramos revealed he had turned down offers from Senate President Franklin Drilon and former senator Vicente Sotto III, who met with him Monday last week, to join the opposition in their campaign for the President’s resignation or ouster.

Ramos, who led the country from 1992 to 1998 and was a key player in the "people power" revolt that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986, told a press conference in his Makati City office that the opposition had been trying to get him to switch sides since July last year.

Drilon and Sotto asked him if he was willing to sign a "covenant" with Aquino and Estrada in a bid to force Mrs. Arroyo out of office over vote-rigging allegations, Ramos said.

Drilon and Aquino in July last year called on Mrs. Arroyo to step down over opposition allegations that she stole the May 2004 vote. Estrada is the opposition’s de facto leader.

"The basic question was whether I was willing to join a covenant with ex-presidents Corazon Aquino and Joseph Estrada," Ramos said.

"I said no way. I will not join the opposition," Ramos said, adding that he did agree to have his picture taken with them "which I think tickled them very much."

Ramos said he had asked Drilon and Sotto to "tell the truth about the meeting" if they talked about it to the media. Drilon and Sotto later admitted to meeting with Ramos but declined to say what they discussed.

Asked if he still supported Mrs. Arroyo, Ramos answered "yes" but added that he remains opposed to suggestions that the planned 2007 mid-term elections be scrapped.

That proposal was drafted by the presidential consultative commission (con-com) formed by Mrs. Arroyo last year to recommend amendments to the Constitution, which forms a crucial part of Mrs. Arroyo’s efforts to revitalize the fragile economy.

The commission proposed a five-year transition to a parliamentary system, extending the terms of members of the Senate and House of Representatives beyond 2007 to enable them to constitute an interim unicameral parliament.

Ramos’ disclosure yesterday corroborates Malacañang’s claim that Drilon and Sotto had tried to win Ramos over to their side.

Ramos’ Monday meeting with Drilon and Sotto sparked speculation of a falling out between him and Mrs. Arroyo because of a disagreement over how to amend the Constitution.

Mrs. Arroyo’s reluctance to agree to Ramos’ scenario of stepping down sparked rumors late last year that the former president had grown tired of her and was plotting a coup.

‘He’s with us’

Palace officials had expressed confidence that Ramos would not join the opposition but nevertheless appeared troubled by the prospect of Ramos severing ties with Mrs. Arroyo.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita earlier said the commission’s proposal had already been "explained" to Ramos and therefore there was no reason for the Palace to worry.

Officials also said that Ramos had asked them to announce his attendance at this month’s high-level meeting of the ruling party Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats and that of the Council of State to dispel rumors that he was abandoning Mrs. Arroyo.

At his press briefing yesterday at his Makati office, Ramos emphasized that Drilon and Sotto had been seeking a meeting with him as early as July last year after the political crisis broke out. It was only on Monday that the meeting finally pushed through.

"I’m not the one asking them to come here as if I’m plotting something with them. They were the ones who sought the meeting. They asked me: ‘Are you willing to join the covenant with former president Aquino and Estrada?’" Ramos said.

He also maintained that everyone was welcome to visit his office, which houses his Ramos Peace and Development Foundation.

Ramos said many political and religious leaders had met with him in the past, including Mrs. Arroyo’s former vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr., now a fierce Arroyo critic.

"They pick my brain but I pick their brains, too," Ramos said.

Mrs. Arroyo’s popularity has plunged to record lows in recent months after she survived an impeachment bid in Congress in September.

That was triggered by audiotapes released publicly in which Mrs. Arroyo could allegedly be heard discussing ways to cheat in the 2004 presidential election.

She has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but issued a televised public apology for her "lapse in judgment" in calling an election official believed to be Virgilio Garcillano.

Garcillano maintains that Mrs. Arroyo did not cheat and denies he was involved in an administration conspiracy to rig the poll outcome.

Mrs. Arroyo’s government has also suffered from perceptions of corruption and has been forced to deny persistent rumors of destabilization plots and military takeovers.

In 2003, Mrs. Arroyo survived a military rebellion by some 300 officers and men who called on her to step down.

One of the ringleaders of that rebellion escaped from custody recently and in a clandestine meeting with reporters said he would enter into alliances with other parties to topple Mrs. Arroyo.

A key Arroyo backer, Ramos was quick to express his support for Mrs. Arroyo in July when Drilon, former President Aquino, major business leaders and several former Arroyo Cabinet officials and advisers abandoned Mrs. Arroyo following opposition allegations of electoral fraud. — With AFP