Protests to greet Ramos on return

Protests to greet Ramos on return

MANILA (Reuter): Philippine militant groups in an uproar over
rice and sugar shortages vowed yesterday to greet President Fidel
Ramos with street protests and marches when he returns from a
foreign trip this week.

"We want to remind Mr Ramos of the problems that his
administration has fostered on the Filipino people, in case his
jet-setting ways have made him forget," said Crispin Beltran,
head of the May 1 Movement (KMU), the country's biggest leftwing
labor group.

Ramos is to return to Manila on Wednesday night from an eight-
day trip to New Zealand and Australia and workers and youth
groups affiliated with the KMU have scheduled protest
demonstrations the following day in Manila and seven provinces.

Newspaper reports quoted organizers as saying they expect to
mobilize 100,000 people for the protests.