Let's all unite and go on an invest-in-RP mode!

I returned from my Japan trip with the world experiencing another terror attack this time at the fabulous Oberoi Hotel and the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, India where it took the Indian Special Forces three whole days before they could neutralize the still unidentified terrorists whom they believe are Pakistani. This only goes to show that it is still a very dangerous world out there and if the world doesn’t pay attention and solves its various problems, people or nations shall always live in the shadow of terror.

While certain groups point their fingers toward Pakistan, more so that the lone gunman who was captured had Pakistani papers, I would like to believe that the Pakistani government had no hand in that terrorist act. It is those warmongers within Pakistan and India who want to escalate the rift between these two nations. We all know that these two countries have nuclear arms and are proud to say so. But before they start their saber rattling, perhaps the leaders of India and Pakistan ought to visit the City of Hiroshima… then perhaps they would start to calm down and work together to achieve peace between their two nations.

Any student of political science knows that the problem between India and Pakistan is more than just a religious disagreement. The main issue is what to do with Kashmir. Let me point out that this is one problem that both nations never bothered to solve in a peaceful manner… nor has the United Nations (UN) been a help on this issue. God knows how many political failures can be attributed to the failures of the UN. The North and South Korea issue, for instance, was never given a chance for reunification. Even the Taiwan issue with the People’s Republic of China is another thorny one, which has to be resolved, just like the Palestinian question. For as long as these issues remain unsolved, the world will always be a dangerous place.

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As I was reading the newspapers last week, it wasn’t surprising for me to know that the impeachment complaint filed against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) was once again thrown out from the halls of Congress and as expected, there was another howl coming mostly from the opposition which could not wait for the 2010 elections to put a new president in place. What the opposition ought to do is field their best candidate against the candidate of the administration and they might just win the next presidential derby. However, we know this could never happen because there are just too many ambitious characters out there who want to be president. 

But as what we’ve been writing for many months now… will changing the president suddenly transform the Philippines into a great nation? I reckon we all know the answer to that question. So what are our options? For starters, there was that call by certain bishops in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) who praised the Thai protestors who took over the Suvarnabhumi International Airport and the Don Muang Domestic Airport that are close to the city. Are these bishops suggesting another people power revolt to remove President Arroyo?

When I was in Bangkok last May, those protesters belonging to the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) had already started their protest action. I saw those protesters surrounding the national government buildings in downtown Bangkok, but never did I ever believe that they would go to the extreme of taking over their two major airports and thus paralyzing the Thai economy, which is strongly based on tourism.

Call it a coincidence that Mumbai and Bangkok are, in a way, major competitors in the global market… Mumbai competes with us in the IT market, like business process outsourcing (BPO) or call centers, while Thailand competes with us in the tourism industry. There is no question that these two events are not related to each other, but surely the Philippines would stand to gain from them, if we know how to grab an opportunity.

But how can the Philippines gain from all this when our politicians are bickering among each other? What we have at this time is a rare or golden opportunity to offer the Philippines as an alternative to Mumbai if the foreign investors who are already there want to get out and start looking for a safer place. While I submit that the Philippines has a poor international image, let me tell you that Cebu somehow hasn’t been tainted with the negative publicity that our country always gets from international news sources. 

So even for just a brief moment, can we ask our politicians, government leaders and the clergy to tone down their political rhetoric and get into a “Come Invest in the Philippines” mode? If we cannot gain from this, as always, we only have ourselves to blame and nobody else but us!

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.philstar.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow entitled, “Straight from the Sky” shown every Monday, 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.