Mindanao crisis bad for business

It’s already bad enough that we have a global financial crisis to contend with, but it’s even worse to have this hostage situation in Mindanao once more. The Abu Sayyaf has perennially disrupted business in this country again and again, giving the Philippines very negative publicity. Last Tuesday, the Manila Overseas Press Club held its second charity golf tournament at the Malacañang Golf Course (it was a fundraising event for the scholarship program of the MOPC) and a lot of businessmen who were there expressed their concern about the effects of the Mindanao crisis on the economy.

Because of the Mindanao crisis, PGMA did not tee off but was gracious enough to join us and briefly chat with the tournament participants and sponsors. The Mindanao situation was obviously foremost in her mind, especially with the deadline set by the Abu Sayyaf for the pullout of the troops in Sulu, threatening to behead one of the hostages if the military failed to comply with their demands. But as everyone now knows, the ASG blinked and “extended” their deadline. Sulu has been placed under a state of emergency, with Governor Abdusakur Tan promising to put into jail any supporter or sympathizer of the Abu Sayyaf.

GMA is right in ordering the military not to surrender an inch to these kidnappers, who are nothing but a band of criminals. While everyone is concerned about the safety of the Red Cross volunteers, these rascals should not be allowed to have their way and push government into a corner. As one local official put it, the lives of the people in their province should also be considered. Allowing the military to pull out all the troops could just result in more lawlessness since bandits and criminals will have a heyday with no one to rein in their activities. Even now, they continue to kidnap Filipinos, even teachers whose only fault is being dedicated to their profession

It’s about time the government bans all foreigners from certain areas in Mindanao to prevent a repeat of situations like this. Nothing is sacred to these criminals, and there is no such thing as “non-combatants” in their vocabulary; everyone is a potential victim. Everybody knows foreigners, especially Americans, are high-value targets because they generate a lot of publicity especially from the international media to embarrass the Philippine government. The more publicity they get, the more negative the result is for business in this country.

It’s really exasperating that while the Philippines is still trying to come to terms with the situation in Mindanao, the rest of the world is busy thinking of ways to deflect the effects of the global crisis. World leaders are in London to discuss the financial meltdown, with a lot of attention focused on what US president Barack Obama has to say. There’s a lot at stake in this G-20 Summit, foremost of which is how to overhaul the financial system and put more regulatory controls into place.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown who is hosting the summit emphasized the need for a “moral” dimension into market regulation. “Most people want a market that is free, but not values-free; a society that is fair, but not laissez-faire,” he said. But a lot of politics is into play with French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatening to walk out if his demands are not met. Sarkozy is taking on a hard line stance, pushing for a resolution identifying countries considered as tax havens and outlining the changes they want to see, plus the consequences that will happen if these countries fail to respond accordingly. In a nutshell, the French president wants a “shame campaign” conducted against countries that refuse to put an end to bank secrecy.

France and Germany are putting on a united front, opposing calls from the US for a coordinated fiscal stimulus. Sarkozy has openly blamed the United States for the financial crisis, and obviously, he wants more action than just “talk-talk” during the summit. He wants to see practical results, Sarkozy said.

So many things are riding on this G-20 Summit, and whatever consensus these world leaders will arrive at could determine how business will be done in the next few decades. Clearly, the Philippines has to watch what is happening in the global arena because it would have more far-reaching effects in the lives of every Filipino, whose consequences could be more serious than the demands of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and all kinds of criminals in Sulu.

* * *

Pissed off with “Cheap Tsao”

I can’t help but comment on that stupid and nasty column by this Chip Tsao (whoever he is), calling the Philippines “a nation of servants” and insulting Filipina domestic helpers. The column sounded nothing like satire and was more of a stupid comment that did not signal any kind of patriotism. While I agree with Philippine Star columnist Billy Esposo that we should use Tsao’s comments to reflect upon ourselves as a people, nonetheless I still think it was unforgivable and unnecessary. The Spratlys issue is purely political, and Congress had every right to pass the Baselines Bill. If the Chinese and other claimants have a problem with that, they can dispute it before an international arena.

I have many Filipino-Chinese friends who said they were disgusted at Tsao’s bigotry. When we were in high school, I remember a Chinese sari-sari store owner used to say that if all the Chinese pissed at the same time, the Philippines would drown. Well, if all Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong stopped working for three days, let’s see what will happen to them. Filipina OFWs are some of the most hardworking in the world, and they do not deserve Tsao’s cheap shot. Instead of banning him, we should lure Tsao to come over here and be the guest speaker in a Migrante rally and let’s see what happens. I don’t want to sound unkind but the only thing I can say to this bigot is: “Piss be with you.”

* * *

Email: [email protected]