Employers: It’s business as usual

The business community remains upbeat despite the bombings in Mindanao and Metro Manila.

"It’s business as usual," said Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) president Donald Dee, who expressed confidence that the government is in control of the situation.

Explosions in the past weeks have hit a bus in Metro Manila, a bus depot in Kidapawan City, and a religious shrine, two shopping malls and a night club in Zamboanga City. Twenty-three people have been killed and more than 200 wounded in the bombings.

"We can manage to pull through," Dee said as he expressed confidence in the government’s capability to put in place all the security measures necessary to ensure the safety of the citizenry as well as business establishments nationwide.

He admitted, however, that retail establishments have slightly been affected by the bomb scare since people have been shying away from public places.

"There was a slowdown in sales," echoed John Kaw, vice chairman for external affairs of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCCI). "There are few people now who really go out to shop."

But Dee quickly countered that the impact on retail sales would be shortlived because people are expected to go back to groceries, malls, restaurants and similar establishments.

As the midnight shopping sale of two of the country’s biggest malls last weekend drew in big crowds despite the specter of doom that hung over the metropolis following the tragic bomb blasts, optimism seemed to be the order of the day.

Though the crowds in commercial centers have thinned in the last few days as people become wary of bombing threats, Dee sees businesses recovering soon.

"Such scenario is merely a temporary aberration and we expect the situation to normalize soon," he said confidently.

Dee also downplayed the peace and order situation in Mindanao, saying the residents in the area are already used to intermittent bombings.

Dr. Cynthia Leynes, head of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) psychiatry department, shares the opinion and said that Metro Manilans are not worried over the bomb scare anymore and have in fact become used to it.

"People don’t listen to those bomb threats anymore. They have become used to it," she observed.

Leynes said this explained why shopping malls in Metro Manila continue to be packed with people despite warnings aired in the media that these places were being eyed by terrorists as their bombing targets.

She cited the incident in December 2000 when people still packed shopping malls after five bomb blasts rocked Metro Manila that ripped apart a Light Rail Transit (LRT) coach, among other targets.

"Only people who are already predisposed to anxiety will be worried over the current terrorist activities," she said.

A united act of defiance

"As terrorism not only affects the Chinese-Filipino community, everybody should be vigilant about it," FCCI’s Kaw said.

FCCI officials and members met with ranking officers of the Philippine National Police led by PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane yesterday and discussed with them matters related to terrorism.

Members of the federation urged the police and the national government to take immediate measures to adopt a single nationwide emergency telephone number to make it easier for people to seek emergency assistance and report any suspicious activities.

At present, the federation stressed, there are several so-called police emergency hotlines such as 166 and 177 but not one similar to the emergency 911 hotline of the United States.

Last weekend, President Arroyo made a similar call to the people when she urged Filipinos to cooperate with authorities as she vowed to bring to justice the perpetrators of deadly bomb blasts in Zamboanga City and Metro Manila.

The first to respond to her appeal of a united act of defiance were the Zamboangueños themselves, whose way of life has been ruled by the gun for decades now.

The day after the twin bombings in Zamboanga City, business went back to normal - shops opened and classes resumed - as 500,000 mostly Christian residents tried to pick up the pieces and resume normal lives.

No less than the manager of Shop-O-Rama, one of the shopping malls that was bombed, admitted that it was not easy to recover but said that the incident will not prevent them from doing business.

"We really can’t do anything but bounce back and defeat terrorism. The people are not afraid because they are out there and have increased their vigilance," Zamboanga City Mayor Lobregat had attested.

Mrs. Arroyo extolled the fighting spirit of the Zamboangueños and urged the rest of the country to do the same.

This as the defense department and the legislature ruled out the need to declare a state of emergency. – With Rainier Allan Ronda, AFP