Ramos lauds Filipino-Americans

Ramos lauds Filipino-Americans

WASHINGTON (AP): Philippine President Fidel Ramos, preparing
to meet with President Bill Clinton, praised Filipino-Americans
for their increasing influence and predicted one would become
president of the United States.

Ramos, whose successor is to be elected May 11, touted the
country's emergence from years of being "the sick man of Asia".
"We are now the first Asian tiger to come out of the woods,"
Ramos declared. Ramos praised Filipino-Americans for their strong
leadership.

Switching from English to Tagalog, he said a Filipino-American
would someday become U.S. president. Jokingly avoiding a repeat
of the statement in English, he said: "Translation: Filipinos are
OK."

Filipino-Americans have become one of the fastest-growing U.S.
minorities, numbering an estimated 2 million, but have struggled
to gain political power.