BY REGINA BENGCO

FORMER President Fidel Ramos yesterday said the country is not yet out of the woods because of "some hard-hearted leaders."

He said no one should be allowed to put more holes into the "already leaky ship" that is the Philippines.

"But all should pull an oar or plug a leak, otherwise we will all sink together," he said, reading a statement to the media after the Edsa 1 anniversary celebration at the People Power Monument along Edsa.

Ramos lamented that the country’s leaders have lost their unity, solidarity and teamwork and said it is up to the citizens to "recapture the spirit of Edsa 1986."

He refused to answer questions on whether he is calling for another people power revolt but he called for "communal reforms."

Later at the Manila Hotel, he rejected calls for another people power kind of uprising. He said the people must first "internalize in their conscience" the spirit of the first and second Edsa revolutions before embarking on a move to unseat President Arroyo.

Arroyo skipped the celebration at the Edsa Shrine and was represented by Vice President Noli de Castro. She said she wanted to "celebrate the true meaning of people power" with the ordinary people, and attended instead events in Caloocan City and Cavite.

Ramos, at the Manila Hotel for the launching of the second volume of his book, Sermons, said any call for "communal reforms" would be futile unless it is met with action and examination of conscience.

A call for "communal action" has been made by Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, amid renewed calls for Arroyo’s ouster amid allegations of payoffs and anomalies in government’s national broadband project.

"We must make sure that instead of banking on another people power revolution for the long term, we should be doing so for the younger generation," Ramos said.

"This will just create ripples 10 to 25 years from now. What is important is for us to move forward, upward, not going zigzag," he added.

IT’S NOTHING

Ramos, who was among the leaders of the bloodless Edsa 1 that ousted the Marcos regime, downplayed the seeming unrest among the people, saying what is happening now is nothing compared to the circumstances leading to the 1986 "revolt."

Ramos said that in Edsa 1, thousands of civilians, nuns, priests and soldiers offered their lives to God in sacrifice for the country.

"We are not yet there because of some hard-hearted leaders, but what should ensue out of conscientization and reform are national renewal and transformation. What is happening now is not similar to what happened 25 years ago. (The year) 1986 was much more stressful than this period as this was coming on the heels of a dictatorship. The democracy that we gained from Edsa 1 lasted for 15 years," he said.

Despite Ramos’ call for sobriety, he said investigations on the alleged overpriced broadband project that was awarded to the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. should continue. Investigations are being conducted by the Senate, Ombudsman and the justice department.

"We must get to the bottom of this (so that the truth will come out). All the evidence must be presented, probable cause must be proven," he said.

CONTENTMENT

Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said history showed that contentment does not spring from a change in the leadership but through political, social and individual behavioral reforms.

He said the people should focus their energies on the country’s "real problems" while "maintaining sobriety and stability in our country in order to improve on the economic benefits and milestones that this government has achieved."

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, chairman of the Edsa People Power 1 Commission, said the fact that people could still gather together even to call for the President’s ouster showed that there is still democracy, which is one of the fruits of Edsa 1.

GMA IN CALOOCAN, CAVITE

Arroyo attended the launching of the Ahon Pinoy Program (APP) at the Silanganan Elementary School in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City and a "peace rally" in Kawit, Cavite.

The APP is a poverty reduction strategy that provides financial assistance through the cash card to extremely poor households to allow its members to meet human development goals.

"Ito ang tunay na diwa ng People Power," Arroyo said.

The President went to the peace rally at Trece Martires in Cavite province, because she said Cavite was the place where Philippine independence was born – in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. She said the Independence Day in Kawit, Cavite in 1898 is as important as the Edsa 1 revolt in 1986.

"I would rather go to where we can celebrate the true meaning of people power, where the ordinary people are," she said in a speech in Cavite.

SCARING INVESTORS

Arroyo told Caviteños that another People Power revolt would discourage foreign investors from going to the Philippines, reminding them that their province is an industrial zone.

In an effort to drive the point home, she said the LRT extension project which Cavite residents have been waiting for is being delayed by Senate investigations.

"Malaki ang inyong ginawa noong 19th century para sa ating kalayaan. Malaki rin ang magagawa ninyo para sa ating kaunlaran. Ang inyong tinig ay dalhin niyo hanggang doon sa Senado...Yes lahat tayo laban sa katiwalian. Pero ang pinaglaban ni Emilio Aguinaldo ay rule of law, democratic principles, ipaglaban natin ‘yon," she said.

She added the coastal road project that the Caviteños would greatly benefit from would finally be finished by the end of the year.

She noted she is the fourth president to do a groundbreaking of the project but she would be the one to finish it. – With Evangeline de Vera