ON July 8, my column on 'Structure and Superstructure' quoted extensively from President Ramos' inaugural address and how I felt he captured the times and was the best inaugural address the Philippines received. While no one is perfect and some actions always can be bettered and revised in hindsight, he was in my opinion, easily the best and greatest president we have had. I am sorry the Constitution limited us to six years of him. Our history and trajectory would have been so much better in my view, if we had another term. It was a critical time as his term ended as the Asian crisis was in full force. We really needed his mature and balanced leadership then.

Let's get what many criticize him for first, the role of the Police Constabulary during martial law. I don't know which orders he may have directed, how much he was complicit in some and what was done in spite of what he would have preferred. His record does imply any personal desire for abusing people and perhaps in some cases he had to follow orders or could do little about them. As he said he atoned for it by revolting in 1986 and by defending democracy during the first Aquino administration. More than I can say for those who never accept responsibility or apologize.