Ramos warns protests may harm economy

Ramos warns protests may harm economy

MANILA (AFP): The Philippine economy, already hard-hit by the
peso's fall, could suffer even more if the Roman Catholic Church
goes ahead with a protest rally Sunday, President Fidel Ramos
warned yesterday.

"There is no reason for us to keep battering our economic
stability and capability and credibility," Ramos said in Prague,
the third stop of a four-nation tour.

A transcript of his remarks was released by the presidential
palace here.

"We are undergoing a storm which is a regional storm... but
it will pass for as long as the house is in stable foundation,"
the president said.

The rally, organized by the church and its business
supporters, aims to halt moves by Ramos's backers to amend the
constitution, which now limits the president to a single term.

Ramos's term ends next year.

The Supreme Court has thrown out two petitions requesting a
temporary order restraining the Catholic church from staging the
protest.

A lower court rejected yesterday a petition to ban the rally.

Ramos points to the opening of the economy under his
five-year-old term as the foundation for modest growth over the
past three years.

But a prolonged regional currency crisis has forced economic
managers to reduce growth targets.

Many businessmen are worried that politicking at this time
could affect the leadership's willingness to make hard decisions.

"Can you imagine the president of the Philippines is in the
middle of big crowd... being covered by the international
media, being shown to the world as the hate symbol?" Ramos said.

Before his departure last week on a 10-day, four-country tour
of Europe and Kuwait, Ramos sought to reassure Filipinos that he
would give up the presidency in 1998 after fears were raised that
he would impose martial rule as late dictator Ferdinand Marcos
did.

In an interview Tuesday with Czech television, Ramos said he
would be "finishing my six years as president on the 30th of June
next year. I am in my last year now and I mean to turn over the
presidency to whoever my successor is, who will be elected in the
elections of May 1998."