Ramos vows to step down

Ramos vows to step down

MANILA (AFP): President Fidel Ramos has urged his countrymen to keep faith in his leadership as the Philippines goes through an economic slowdown, and vowed to stand down next year in accordance with the constitution.

"Dramatic developments have been taking all over Asia, challenging the stability of Asian currencies and causing distress in Asian stock markets," he said at a private dinner with trade officials late Thursday.

Ramos appealed for support for his economic reform program, saying "much, much more remains to be finished".

The Philippine Inquirer newspaper drew comparisons yesterday between this initiative with the "citizens assemblies" convened in 1973 by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who imposed martial rule the previous year, to draft a new constitution to legitimize his stay in office.