FORMER President Fidel Ramos was not impressed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's speech during her State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Monday, saying it lacked "commitment to long-term reforms" including the need for a credible electoral process.
"Reforms are important, but she lacks commitment to long-term reforms," Ramos told reporters as he was leaving the House plenary hall.
He said one of the eight "ticking time-bombs" of long-range problems the President needs to address is the "non-credible electoral processes and abuse by trapos (traditional politicians) and turncoats."
The former President was the one who "rescued" Arroyo from attempts to oust her in 2005 at the height of "Hello Garci" scandal.
Ramos, whose protégé Jose de Venecia Jr. was ousted as Speaker last February over the national broadband network (NBN)-ZTE scandal, said the other ticking time bombs are:
* Mass poverty due to overpopulation, rising prices and deepening rich-poor gap;
* Environmental degradation, less potable water, reduced natural resources and land use conflicts;
* Reputation for official corruption and bureaucratic red tape leading to higher costs;
* Disputatious and flip-flopping decision-making culture;
* A divided society with vestiges of feudal paternalism predominating;
* Lack of durable peace in Mindanao and other places; and
* Unlevel playing field favoring "monopolists, dynastists and oligarchs."
The former President noted that in 2000 and 2001, the government committed to fulfill its millennium development goals by 2015.
"We're now at midpoint. We're far from complying with commitments. These are long range problems that should have been attended to over the years, faithfully and consistently and coherently," he said.
"Compare our life expectancy, we're still below. Second is knowledge, compare our enrollment rate in high school with enrolment rate in other countries, we're below. We're not going to catch up with our medium-term development goals according to the national statistics coordination board. Third is quality of life. Is your income enough to meet basic needs? Again, we're below standards," he added. (WV/Sunnex)
