Former Cabinet members and senior officials who served during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos have collectively expressed their support to Vice President Leni Robredo's presidential bid.
In a joint statement dated Jan. 12, the former Cabinet members and senior officials conveyed their support to Robredo, saying the country needs a leader who will lead Filipinos to a "positive path" away from the "deep scars" inflicted by the pandemic.
"We believe that the country sorely needs a leader who will inspire unity, solidarity and teamwork in government and among all Filipinos; empower our people, especially the disadvantaged and marginalized in society; and bring out the best of servant leadership in government officials and public servants by being the foremost example of integrity, dedication, professionalism, level-headedness, statesmanship, pursuit of excellence, hard work, and true caring and sharing for our fellow Filipinos," the former Cabinet members said.
"We believe that Vice President Leni Robredo is the only presidential candidate who possesses the above-described qualities, and who can credibly lead us Filipinos closer towards that dream," they added.
The former public officials, who served during Ramos' term from 1992 to 1998, also expressed concern over the political campaigns happening now, especially in social media.
They argued that the emerging campaign for the coming elections is "being compromised by the proliferation of misinformation, dubious promises and outright falsehoods; deliberate thought manipulation especially via social media through the use of large numbers of fictitious accounts and mercenary troll armies."
They are also concerned over the "misuse of certain polls and surveys that may not necessarily reflect and represent true voter preferences; and continued patronage and money politics that have traditionally perpetuated undesirable dynasties and diverted people’s choices away from electing principled leaders."
With this, they enjoined Filipinos to support Robredo's candidacy, stressing that the country needs to elect a leader who will lead the nation into the "positive path to the unified, humane, just, progressive, economically vibrant, sustainable and equitable society" as the country try to recover from the "deep scars" of the pandemic.
"We therefore enjoin our fellow Filipinos to support her candidacy, as we ourselves pledge our wholehearted commitment to do our share to help her become the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
The statement of support was signed by 23 former Cabinet members and senior officials of the Ramos administration namely: former Environment Secretary Angel Alcala, former Finance Secretary Ramon del Rosario, former National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, former National Statistics Office (NSO) Administrator Tomas Africa, former Agrarian Reform Secretary Ernesto Garilao, former Tourism Secretary Narzalina Lim, former National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Dante Canlas, former Health Secretary Jaime Galvez Tan, former Environment Undersecretary Ben Malayang III, former Labor Secretary Nieves Confesor, former Finance Undersecretary Milwida Guevara, former Public Works and Highways Secretary Edmundo Mir, former Tourism Secretary Vicente Carlos, former NEDA Secretary Cielito Habito, former Environment Secretary Victor Ramos, former Presidential Assistant Benjamin de Leon, former Social Welfare and Development Secretary Lina Laigo, fomer Health Secretary Carmencita Reodica, former Justice Secretary and now Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, former Energy Secretary Delfin Lazaro, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Roberto Romulo, former Labor Secretary Jose Brillantes, and former Comission on Higher Education Chairperson Ester Garcia.