Ramos warns against cronyism

Ramos warns against cronyism

MANILA (DPA): Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos urged Filipinos on Thursday to guard against a revival of cronyism under the administration of President Joseph Estrada, a former supporter of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

In a statement on the first day of Estrada's second year in office, Ramos warned against complacency amid encouraging signs that the Philippine economy is recovering from Asia's financial crisis ahead of other hard-hit Southeast Asian countries.

Estrada marked the end of the first year of his six-year term on Wednesday, trumpeting the country's economic recovery as his administration's major achievement. He vowed to work harder in his second year, saying there was still a lot to be done to fulfill his promise to improve the lives of the country's estimated 20 million poor people.

A major concern of critics and analysts has been the widespread perception that cronyism is back with some of Marcos' friends and associates, who are also closely linked to Estrada, gaining influential posts in business and politics.