Chatting with the Philippine finance minister is an odd experience these days. Jose Isidro Camacho is a perfectly normal, pleasant and thoughtful guy. What's unusual is the topic at hand: Security.
Finance bigwigs typically are too busy looking at trends in inflation, tax revenue and currencies to think about peace, order and social stability. Here in the Philippines, economics and security are inexorably linked. In fact, many international investors say security is the single biggest reason they aren't putting much money here.
"Peace and order are among the biggest issues we need to deal with from an economic standpoint," Camacho explains in an interview.
Highly publicized kidnappings and crime here have damaged Manila's reputation with companies that create jobs and investors who provide capital. Worsening violence at the hands of rebels like the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim kidnap-for-ransom group, in the southern Philippines is slamming tourism across the nation.
More and more, security concerns are spooking markets, which fear high poverty rates make the Philippines a natural breeding ground for terrorist groups. Hence, the recent arrival of US troops. Nowadays, when you tell Americans, Europeans or Japanese you're visiting the Philippines, the advisory "Be careful over there" is almost certain to come up.
Some of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's advisers think she should hire former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to come over and raise some hell. The rationale: If Giuliani could clean up the Big Apple, he could do it anywhere -- even Manila.
"We could recruit him as a consultant on peace and order," Arroyo said, following a recent trip to New York.
Talk about your PR stunts. Getting Time magazine's latest person of the year over here could repair the nation's crime-ridden image. The Philippines, after all, suffers from increasing disorder and lawlessness. Who better to draw attention to Manila's cleanup than a man whose leadership following Sept. 11 won him global acclaim and an honorary British knighthood? The concerns here are valid, if somewhat overblown. To some extent, the Philippines is suffering from what might be called the "CNN effect." If you're relying on the mass media for perspectives, you're not getting the real story. Much of the international television coverage gives the impression Abu Sayyaf-like rebels are terrorizing central Manila. In reality, the problem is 800 miles south of the capital city.
Yet there have been kidnappings in the greater Manila area; many have targeted ethnic Chinese businesspeople. The trend continues to hurt the local economy. And that's why, along with reforming the fragile Philippine economy, it's equally important for Arroyo to restore peace and order to this nation of 77 million.
"This is no longer just a social, quality of life issue, but an economic one," says Jose Cuisia, president of Philippine American Life and General Insurance Corp, a unit of biggest insurer American International Group Inc.
Safety concerns are partially eclipsing Arroyo's accomplishments. In her first 13 months, she's calmed the political and economic instability that prevailed a year ago. The Philippine currency is stable, the stock market is up 21 percent this year, and the nation's credit-rating outlook also has improved.
Yet investors wonder about the government's ability to restore peace and order. Hence Arroyo's controversial decision to welcome US soldiers onto Philippine soil. She's taken considerable flack over the arrival of soldiers from its former colonial master, which packed up military bases in 1991.
Arroyo's calculated risk could pay off over time in the form of foreign investment and vibrant asset markets. That's why economic officials here aren't just concerned with unemployment, privatization and banking-sector reform. They, too, are actively involved in the make-the-Philippines-safe process. "Security is a fundamental problem that has to be addressed," Camacho says.
The stakes are high. Manila wants to attract more multinational companies and hopes a growing number will anchor their headquarters here. The nation hopes its massive and skilled English-speaking population will be enough. Yet bigwigs sitting in London, New York and Tokyo won't be keen on putting their executives in harm's way.
Even if Arroyo can't get Giuliani on board, she's employing some of the former mayor's tactics. Manila is borrowing a page from Giuliani's "zero tolerance" policy on crimes, big and small, and creating an anti-crime commission. It's meant to coordinate efforts between police, the military and the government. Manila also is upgrading its security forces, hiring more college graduates.
Arroyo last week released an additional 200 million pesos (US$3.9 million) for the government's fight against kidnap-for-ransom gangs. The funds will enable the Philippine National Police to step up high-tech surveillance efforts and acquire state-of-the-art weaponry.
The China Coast Guard yesterday said it had “expelled” a Japanese ship from waters around the Diaoyutais (釣魚台). The uninhabited islands — which are known as the Senkakus in Japan — are claimed by Taipei and Beijing, but are administered by Tokyo. China Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun (劉德軍) said that a Japanese fishing vessel had “illegally entered territorial waters” around the islands from Tuesday to Wednesday. The coast guard “took necessary control measures in accordance with the law, warned [the ship] and expelled it,” Liu said in an online statement. “The Diaoyu and affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory and we urge the
The military detected a record 153 Chinese military aircraft around the nation, the Ministry of National Defense announced today, after China held a day of large-scale drills yesterday. The aircraft were spotted in the 25-hour period until 6am today, the ministry said in a statement — the most for a single day. Beijing deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard boats to encircle Taiwan yesterday, with Taiwan responding by dispatching "appropriate forces" and placing its outlying islands on heightened alert. The ministry typically records the numbers of Chinese warplanes and warships operating around Taiwan in 24-hour periods from 6am to 6am the
A research team led by National Tsing Hua University Department of Physics and Center for Quantum Science and Technology professor Chuu Chih-sung (褚志崧) has developed Taiwan’s first and the world’s smallest quantum computer, using a single photon, the university said yesterday. Chuu said in the study, which was published in the journal Physical Review Applied last month, that they had resolved the main obstacles for quantum computing development — high energy costs and a low-temperature operating environment. Chuu said that photons are the smallest possible particle of electromagnetic energy, and his team had devised a way to encode information in 32time
China simultaneously employed cognitive warfare while conducting military drills around Taiwan on Monday, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau insinuated yesterday The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) early on Monday launched military drills code-named “Joint Sword-2024B” involving its army, navy, air and rocket forces in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan. They ended at 6pm. The bureau said it had found several false reports online, such as untrue assertions of Taiwan’s military failing to respond quickly and that ships carrying liquefied natural gas had been forced to turn around. The messages formed “cognitive manipulation” by “overseas