The Philippines Timely Gesture of Support

The armed forces chief comes down squarely behind Aquino

For weeks Manila has been rife with speculation over where armed forces Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos would stand in the event of a showdown between President Corazon Aquino and her restive Defense Minister, Juan Ponce Enrile. While most observers have put the general in Aquino's camp, his support of some of Enrile's positions has made him difficult to read. Last week, confronted by reports that members of the military were planning a coup, Ramos sternly warned "military adventurists" that such action could be "bloody and destabilizing." Declared the general, in his clearest show of support yet for Aquino's fragile government:...

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