Euro wave matrons

No, this is not a punk-rock band that got stuck in the rave of the 80s. The new Euro wave deals with the faltering dollar and the sinking peso. Over the past two months, local executives of foreign banks have unloaded their personal dollars and have hedged on the Euro. Our ear-spies overheard that this trend could last until next year when the dollar is expected to stabilize after the handover of Iraq and the US presidential elections. With this "buy signal" from the banking insiders, a multitude of Forbes and Dasmariñas matrons have been making a conga line to the banks to ride the new Euro wave.

Kimchi Mafia

They are totally unlike the 30’s Italian gangsters who don thousand dollar suits and brandish Thompsons at every corner like a fashion accessory. These Korean "wiseguys" are more discreet, boy-next-door types who are good husbands and providers, some are equally good managers of restaurants – and most of them speak fluent Tagalog. Their modus operandi is simple: Get retired Koreans to bring their meager savings to the Philippines and put up businesses here. Once they’re in the country, the whole "gangsta" bit takes over-protection racket, lone sharking, white slavery, harassment, blackmail – you name it. According to our ear-spies, Koreans, who mostly live in plush private villages in Metro Manila, have tried seeking the help of Filipino government officials about their predicament. But as any gangster movie would say, "they’re in their pockets." No wonder kimchi is so expensive.

Short-term stint, long-term problem

The recent appointment of Norberto Gonzalez as the National Security Adviser and the National Security Council Director General did not sit well with the military and the intelligence community. Their first objection is that he could be a security liability. According to our spyring archives, Gonzalez is the supposed president of the Partido Sosyalista Demokratiko ng Pilipinas (PDSP). The second objection is that he has neither military nor intelligence experience. Palace insiders disclosed the possibility of keeping enemies on a shorter leash in order to watch them more closely. Or that it could be one of the concessions granted to Joma Sison in the recently-concluded Oslo talks between the government and the Reds. Either way, this looks like a short-term stint at the NSC.

A laboratory for terrorism

The United States is tying up loose ends in Iraq for two reasons. One, in the short-term, it is an election year. Therefore, it is an imperative for the Administration to wrap things up swiftly and to squelch the growing numbers of body bags flying Stateside. Two, terrorists are shifting their base of operations to Asia. The Taliban spores have pollinated Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and have found its way to the Philippines. The assessment is that the Philippines is the most favorable laboratory and training ground for terrorists. Poverty, a swelling disgruntled population, the breakdown of peace and order, and the archipelago’s porous borders are the main factors identified for the choice of RP. If the US and its regional allies are to achieve stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, then multilateral efforts to contain this menace must be implemented soon. Keep in mind that 50 percent of the conflict flashpoints within the next 20 years are in the region. And having a laboratory for that in our own backyard is not the right way to start the century - nor a new administration. A positive development, however, is the establishment of the Philippine Defense Reform Program that would help our security forces root out the terrorists and contain our borders. But it will still be up to the next administration to address rampant poverty, and an inordinately fast growing population, which for the most part, are disgruntled.

Spy tidbiz

The Risk and Insurance Department of this well-known bank supposedly has corruption reeking from its very pores. Our email sender says the corrupt practices have long been legendary, but "at last," a member of the bank’s top management has allegedly admitted that the supposed "corruption" goes all the way to the top – to the EVP. "Will SRP now have the balls to root out the cancer?" Our question is: If at any rate the allegations were true, how can underlings root it out from the top? Just asking...

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