[asia-apec 1646] Fw: APEC/Philippines

[APEC Monitoring Group]

> "Philippine Daily Inquirer", 10/11/00
> Amando Doronila, columnist
>
>
>
> Crisis brought before Apec
>
>
>
> THE RESIGNATION of Roberto Romulo, Jose Luis Yulo Jr. and Benigno Ricafort
> as Philippine representatives in the Apec Business Advisory Council has
not
> been fully appreciated, coming as it did after the resignations in the
> Cabinet and the defections in Congress.
>
>
>
> The resignation of the three means that the Philippine business sector,
> amalgamated in the Abac will not be represented in the Asia-Pacific
Economic
> Cooperation forum in Brunei on Nov. 11-16. And the absence of the Abac
will
> highlight before an international forum the severance of the partnership
> between government and private business in this country, as an aftermath
of
> the political crisis engulfing the Estrada administration.
>
>
>
> While Malacañang insists that the President will attend the Apec meeting
> despite the crisis and a limping government, the Philippine delegation
will
> be crippled by the withdrawal of the Philippine business sector
> representation in the Abac, composed of private sector groups in the
> Asia-Pacific. During the past Apec summits, the private sector has been a
> key component in the development of economic and trade ties among Apec
> members, given that most of them are market economies.
>
>
>
> Romulo, the former foreign secretary, and his two other colleagues, wrote
in
> their letter to President Estrada on Nov. 4 that, “We have been
comfortable
> in serving in this capacity in your administration because we felt that it
> gave us the opportunity to work for a cause that we have long espoused. We
> have long believed that the Philippine economy would on balance benefit
from
> closer economic integration with the Asia-Pacific region. More
importantly,
> that the success of such integration lies in adherence to the Apec ideals
of
> commitment to openness, transparency and accountability particularly in
> economic governance.
>
>
>
> “However, we have watched with great dismay how gradually our government
has
> strayed away from these ideals that Apec governments committed to when
> leaders first met in Seattle and which they reaffirm every year. We in the
> Abac have been critical of governments who have behaved in such a matter
in
> the past not just on moral grounds but because of their adverse economic
> consequences on their citizens.
>
>
>
> “And now the Philippine business community whose views we are mandated to
> represent in Apec has expressed the same sentiment. We cannot in good
> conscience continue to remain the country’s representatives to the Abac
when
> we find it increasingly difficult for us to remain credible in espousing
> these ideals in this regional forum when our government is the first to
> violate them. For this reason, we are tendering our resignation from our
> appointment as Philippine representatives to the Abac effective
>  immediately.”
>
>
>
> The Philippine Abac representatives are referring to the corruption whose
> more ghastly aspects have been revealed by Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson. It
> would be difficult for them to be preaching transparency and level playing
> field when the business environment in Manila smacks of rent-seeking and
> favoritism for cronies.
>
>
>
> Thus, the absence of the Philippine representatives in the Abac can only
> highlight the rupture between the government and the private sector and
the
> economic isolation of the government. Malacañang says that the President
> will abbreviate his presence in the Apec, but with the jueteng scandal
> hanging over his head, he will be placed in an embarrassing and awkward
> position. Apec ministers will not, of course, ask him whether the jueteng
> charges are true. They know better than doing that, and yet the President
> will bear the stigma of the scandal in Brunei.
>
>
>
> The Philippine business sector has been the dynamo of initiatives for
> regional economic integration, especially during the Ramos administration
> when the Philippine economy posted a sustained rise in economic growth and
> when its recovery put back the Philippines in the map of the Asian
economic
> miracle. Now, the Philippine business sector is in no position to stage
> initiatives. The picture that will be presented in the now reduced
> Philippine participation in the Apec is that the country has been crippled
> by the crisis; consequently other Apec members would not be taking the
> official delegation seriously.
>
>
>
> It is hard to imagine how the slide of the Philippine economy toward
> recession can be stopped when the business sector has withdrawn its
support
> for the administration. The President may fortify the political front from
> giving in to pressure for Cabinet resignations by compelling 23 Cabinet
> members and even provincial governors and city mayors to sign pledges of
> loyalty to the administration. The signature campaign is not normal. It
> emphasizes the insecurity of the President about the loyalty of the
> remaining Cabinet members, and his concern that public pressure would at
> some point break the façade of Cabinet solidarity.
>
>
>
> As the President maneuvers to regain control of Congress by moves to
> reorganize the chambers by deposing Senate President Franklin Drilon and
> Speaker Manuel Villar, he has succeeded in solidifying the trade union
> movement, both from the Right and the Left, in jumping into the bandwagon
of
> the Estrada resign demand. The widespread withdrawal of support of many
> sectors, including business and the unions, accelerates the tailspin of
the
> economy. No matter how much the President strengthens his political
defenses
> in the Cabinet and in Congress, in particular in the legislature where he
is
> facing an impeachment complaint, these defenses stand on shifting sand and
> are likely to crumble.
>
>
> November 10, 2000
>