ABSTRACT
On June 30, 1992, Fidel V. Ramos took the oath of office as president of the Philippines. In April 1993, Ramos was granted emergency powers to reorganize the National Power Corporation, to increase electricity rates, and to award electricity plant construction projects without the long and expensive process of public bidding. The midterm elections of May 1995 strengthened Ramos's authority, since he gained substantial political power in them. Although one senator quipped that Ramos was given a cardboard sword to cut a Gordian knot, the problem would either ease within a year or destroy the prospect of real economic progress. The new banking laws and regulations promulgated during the Ramos presidency were designed to play a vital structural role in encouraging real economic growth, especially after Southeast Asia was devastated by the 1997 regional economic collapse. Ramos's task, in the main quite successfully managed, was to start the process of catching up.
