Ramos on 32nd anniversary of EDSA: Kulelat, hindi tayo nagkakaisa

Former President Fidel Ramos on Thursday urged Filipinos to set aside their differences and unite in the same way when the first EDSA Revolution deposed the dictator Ferdinand Marcos 32 years ago.

Ramos pointed to the discord besetting the country as seen with Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's impeachment, the Duterte administration's beef with Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and its issues with the critical media.

"We're at the kulelat position. Dapat nasa number five tayo. Di tayo nagkakaisa," Ramos said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

"Merong impeachment, merong... sa House of Respresentatives, merong gulo. Sa Supreme Court, gulo. Sa Ombudsman, meron. Sa media, meron. Ano ka, Rappler. Magkaisa na kayong lahat. Noong EDSA 1, nagkaisa lahat," he added.

"Noong EDSA 1, nagkaisa lahat. Military, civilian, Christians, Ilokano, Tagalog, Cebuano, Dabawenyo...Ang ating legacy although ay yung people empowerment," Ramos said.

"Walang Ilokano, walang Tagalog, walang Dabawenyo, lahat Pilipino. At tignan mo 'yung nangyari noong Edsa 1, nagkaisa tayo. Nawala 'yung mga diktador, dynasty, elite. Nauna 'yung mga tao," he added.

The Philippines' return to democracy after experiencing military rule under the Marcos dictatorship is the legacy of the country to the world, according to former president Fidel Ramos on Thursday.

"Ito po ang pamana natin sa buong mundo... leadership, citizenship, freedom, democracy and peace development ng bayan... What happened in February 1986, EDSA... pero it was just the beginning... hindi pa tapos 'yan. Ang pahihintulutan niyan ay dependent sa ating mga kabataan," Ramos said in a public forum about democracy.

"'Yan ang pag-asa ng bayan... tayo. The Filipino is mandated to lead the way to a better future, with no more war, no more poverty, no more terrorism, no more dynasty, no more global warming," Ramos said.

In a forum in UP in the afternoon, Ramos urged the youth to do their part in empowering the democracy that was supposedly restored 32 years ago.

"We must be citizens of the world from hereon. Hindi tayo nagkakaisa. Kaya ang hamon ko sa inyo mga kabataan, kaya ba natin 'to? Can we be better than the others? Kaya!" Ramos said.

"Show the world, [be] competitive, number one... be better than the others," he added.

On Sunday, the country will commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution which toppled the Marcos regime.

Ramos said he would join the activities set on Sunday for the remembrance of the peaceful revolution.

"Diyan, ako ay nakatanggap ng invitation from President Duterte, I hope he'll be there, that's where he belongs. Tatay ng ating Filpino family... so we'll join. But ako, I will lead the soldiers, policemen, their families in Aguinaldo and in Crame because they are part of our community," Ramos said in an ambush interview.

"Ang mahalaga 'yung salubungan ng civilian at ng military plus the police there at the People Power Monument. Importante ang pagkakaisa ng mga Pilipino," he added.

The former president played a big role during the EDSA Revolution.

He was the vice chief of staff of the Armed Forces and chief of the Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police when he and then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile withdrew support from Marcos.

Meanwhile, in the same forum, University of the Philippines Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista underscored the need for the public to rethink their conceptions as regards to democracy.

"I guess at this point in time, it's really a welcome for us to start rethinking again of what we mean by democracy, what we mean by democracy in the Philippines and how can we actually contribute to its evolution," Bautista said.

The UP official said being able to distinguish facts to non-facts also plays a key role in democracy in this modern age where fake news is rampant over social media.

"One of the biggest threats against democracy is the threat of the erosion of knowledge and the erosion of evidence... the erosion of what we consider to be facts as opposed to fabricated facts," Bautista said. —NB, GMA News