Rody’s ‘Kuya Eddie’

It was only last Friday when a heads up in private message at my Twitter account posted a purported “breaking” news from an obvious hoax website called C1tizen, The International Channel. In big bold letters it reported “Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos Dies in Germany Due to drug overdose.” Mae Gaffud, a loyal executive staff of Mr. Ramos at his RPDev Foundation office alerted the former president about the hoax news.

Himself a psy-war expert, the 88-year-old Ramos knows very well how to handle such disinformation campaign. Knowing how fast rumors travel in the age of modern-day communication technology, he gamely posed in the Facebook account of Mae to immediately belie the hoax news. Mae made his boss to pose for a group photo and to hold a newspaper that day and posted: “He (Ramos) is fine folks! That was just a mean, below the belt rumor!!!”

With wide grin, Mr. Ramos appeared in red T-shirt, wearing his Scout Ranger beret, and with his trademark thumbs up sign quickly ended his rumored death.

To confirm the falsity of the rumored death of the former president, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. posted in his own personal Facebook account photos and videos showing him with Ramos alive and clowning along with his golf buddies last Sunday at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Golf Club in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City: “Former President FVR said, ‘I heard the news too. The news about my death was exaggerated.”

This was a few days after Esperon arrived last week from Japan as part of the official delegation of President Rodrigo Duterte. But it was during the arrival last Oct. 21 of President Duterte from Beijing with Esperon also in tow during that four-day state visit when Ramos tendered his resignation as “special envoy” to China.

It did not surprise me at all when Ramos announced his own resignation last Monday. He made the off-the cuff announcement in the same manner that President Duterte announced his appointment of the former president as his “special envoy” to China.

Mr. Ramos cited his resignation was because his job to break the ice in our country’s relations with China was done already and that government officials have taken over.

But his resignation was preceded with a flurry of criticisms that he openly dished at President Duterte despite the latter’s repeated public declarations he considers him as his mentor.

When asked about his string of criticisms on Duterte, Ramos retorted: “I must be considered by everybody, including the present President, as an older brother of the family who, once in a while must give advice, unsolicited.”

Ramos, however, hastened to add he still considers himself part of the Duterte team “whether they like it or not.”

Cracks in the close friendship of President Duterte and Mr. Ramos started coming out as early as September.

In his typical extemporaneous remarks before the Filipino community while he was in Laos last Sept. 5, President Duterte narrated how Ramos visited him four times in Davao City to supposedly convince him to run for president in the May 9, 2016 elections. The Davao City Mayor was still dilly-dallying when Ramos staunchly persuaded him to take the challenge of leadership to address the nagging problems facing the Filipino nation.

And in one of those visits, the Davao City Mayor recalled Ramos turned over to him a list so thick he hasn’t even finished validating all the names of people, including generals into illegal drugs trade. But Mr. Ramos denied this a week later in his regular column at The Manila Bulletin.

He could have kept quiet about it. However, Mr. Ramos’ close filial association with the police and military services – being one of them at one time of his long years in public service career – apparently weighed more than being bandied about as source of this drugs list.

A few days before President Duterte observed his first 100 days in office, Mr. Ramos wrote in his column how he feels a “letdown” of the administration he helped put in power. Describing the country as a “sinking ship,” Mr. Ramos lamented the widespread poverty problem of the Filipino people has been relegated to the backseat because the Duterte administration has been preoccupied with its illegal drug war.

In his subsequent column, Mr. Ramos bitterly castigated President Duterte for the latter’s yet another off-the-cuff remarks declaring his decision to end joint exercises and operations with the Americans under existing Philippine-US military agreements. A West Point graduate, Mr. Ramos cautioned President Duterte from anti-American digs that may endanger the country’s overall security, if not imperil national interest.

In his latest stinging rebuke, the former president also took issue over President Duterte’s statement he will not honor the Paris climate change agreement because he finds it stupid and absurd. In his regular column last Sunday at The Manila Bulletin, Ramos wrote: “He (Duterte) may claim that to be ‘more insulting than friendly’ to our long established allies is part of his God given ‘destiny.’ But this is obviously wrong, and full of S…T!!!” Ramos wrote.

Close-in aides of Ramos once intimated to me they could determine the degree of irritation of the former president. By doing so, they were able to evade being at the receiving end of his wrath or anger. His close circle of security and Palace aides who are Ramos provincemates from Pangasinan know if the former President cusses in English, he is just making “lambing,” or a show of affection. When he cusses in Tagalog, it is a sign of anger. But when Ramos cussed in Panggalatok, or native dialect of Pangasinan, he is seriously mad.

So for all the fury and noises he is making now, I guess Mr. Ramos is at the stage of just trying to show his affection to President Duterte. For all the criticisms aired publicly were perhaps his way to reach the attention of President Duterte who is now surrounded by new found allies and advisers, and rah-rah boys and girls.

We can understand the frustration of Mr. Ramos how six years could be a short term of office for a good president like him. His long-term vision for the country could not be accomplished in such a short term he had from 1992 to 1998.

As senior elder statesman, Ramos aptly concedes his advice to 71-year-old President Rody “is a take-it-or-leave-it sort of thing” from his Kuya Eddie.