FVR denies talks with Erap, castigates Malay

MANILA, Philippines – Former President Fidel Ramos denied yesterday that he is set to hold talks with former President Joseph Estrada and maintained that he has no intention of meeting him.

Frumencio Lagustan, Ramos’ spokesman, issued a statement saying “FVR (Ramos’ initials) categorically said that ‘no such meeting is taking place’.”

News reports (not The STAR) said that Ramos and Estrada are set to meet on a possible political alliance leading to the 2010 elections. The reports, which quoted Ramos’ spokesman Ed Malay, also said Estrada had agreed to the purported meeting with his predecessor before the former leaves for the Middle East for a series of speaking engagements with Filipino workers.

Ramos, however, said he was cool to such meeting.

“The meeting with Erap (Estrada’s nickname) had been brought up to me by some people over the past years but I neither entertained nor encouraged them to pursue the matter,” the former president said.

“That has always been my position and it remains the same to this date,” he said, adding, “Erap himself might be misled by such reports.”

Estrada, who was Ramos’ vice president, was elected to the presidency in 1998. The two enjoyed good relations for a few months until they had a falling out over Ramos’ alleged role in destabilization efforts against Estrada. Estrada was ousted in 2001 in the country’s second popular uprising.

Ramos also castigated Malay for speaking for him without authorization.

He said he has not authorized Malay to make statements on his behalf. Malay, he said, is his media coordinator, not spokesman.

The former president also warned the public not to take “hook, line and sinker” the statements made by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and political affairs adviser Gabriel Claudio following their meeting on Saturday on the merger of Lakas-CMD and President Arroyo’s Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).

Ermita and Claudio said they have already clarified matters with Ramos, who earlier slammed the “undue haste” and lack of consultations in the merger of the two parties.

“Don’t take it (Ermita and Claudio’s statements) hook, line and sinker,” Ramos said.

“That is their version. Hindi naman porque umiinom kami ng cognac ay okay na at may kasunduan na (It’s not as if everything’s okay just because we had cognac, and we now have an agreement),” he said, referring to their meeting. – Paolo Romero