Former President Fidel V. Ramos, founder of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party, is in favor of the merger with the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), but slammed the way it was done with "undue haste." He said there was not enough consultation done to iron out the kinks in the merger.
 
"I didn't boycott it. I want you to know I have been for the merger from day one, but there was undue haste and lack of consultation in regard to the calling of the grand meeting yesterday [at Manila Hotel]," Ramos told reporters on Friday.
 
The merger of Lakas-CMD and President Arroyo's Kampi to become Lakas-Kampi-CMD was formalized on Thursday.

Ramos's absence in the merger ceremony led to speculations that, like fellow Lakas-CMD founder Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr., he will not join the merged party.
 
"There was undue haste that's coming all the way from the top by dictation. Dictation is opposite of consultation," he said, hinting that President Arroyo rushed the merger without proper consultations with the members of the two administration parties.
 
President Arroyo is the chairman of Lakas-CMD and Kampi and became the chairman of the merged party.

Ramos did not blame presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio, the head of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD unification and consolidation committee, for the issues he raised. "Undue haste is not his (Claudio) responsibility," he said.

Accommodation 
 
Lakas-CMD lieutenants Claudio and House Speaker Prospero Nograles said they are willing to accommodate Ramos's concerns.
 
"I have a meeting with him this weekend, and I will explain the developments regarding the merger during the two-week period that he had been out of the country. Handa naman ako magpa-sermon sa kanya. But I'm confident that the questions or reservations that he has about the merger are not fatal," Claudio said in a statement.
 
"We look forward to his being a fountainhead of inspiration and guidance as chairman emeritus, this time not only of Lakas but of the bigger family that it has becoem through the merger with Kampi," Claudio added.
 
Contrary to Ramos' claim, Nograles said there was "enough consultation."
 
"I think that we would be amenable to any amendments he would like to propose. We are flexible," he said.
 
Nograles is also confident that Ramos will not abandon the merged party. "I don't think FVR will abandon our party. I don't think we have given him any reason to abandon us," he said.

FVR's concerns 
 
Asked why he thinks the merger was rushed, Ramos said, "I don't know. Ask the person who rushed it. We need an explanation. I'm asking it through this press conference. Im sure they will react and make excuses."
 
Ramos said there are "glaring errors" in the new party's constitution and by-laws, or the rules that will guide the actions of the party. He said he only saw copies of the constitution and by-laws on Thursday, when he arrived from a trip out of the country.
 
Among Ramos's concerns are the following:
 
1. What will happen to Lakas-CMD? Does the merger automatically dissolve the party?
 
2. What will happen to the partnership of Lakas-CMD with influential international group Centrist Democrats International (CDI)-Asia Pacific? It's an organization of over a hundred political parties worldwide.
 
3. What happens to De Venecia, who replaced Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra as the chairman of CDI?
 
"This is my humble suggestion because it was omitted. Why don't they circulate and ask comments about the drafts, because I saw glaring errors like, does Lakas-CMD exist because of this? You better ask a lawyer."
 
"Review, and give comments, and meet again, and come to a consensus on rule of majority. Do we in Lakas National Directorate adopt this constitution of this merged party? And if Kampi and Lakas vote by majority, does this go to a general assembly of both parties and then it is ratified?" Ramos said. -- with reports from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News