The plan that will be put in place during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Manila from Nov. 18 to 19 is an overkill. For all intents and purposes, the whole Metro Manila, with about 12 to 13 million people, and the center of economic activity of the country will be locked down for three to four days. One wonders whether all the actions that will be taken by the government are all necessary.
Let us consider the following: About 1,125 domestic flights will be canceled. This excludes the international flights that will also have to be canceled. Manila Bay has been declared as a no-sail zone. Cargo trucks will be banned. The four non-working days in Metro Manila will deprive daily wage earners of their salaries which they badly need considering that Christmas is just 42 days away. In spite of a Holy week scenario that will decongest the streets of Metro Manila, many roads will still be closed and restricted during the conference. The roads that will lead to the Philippine International Convention Center will be limited to the delegates and the hundreds or even thousands of security personnel assigned to secure the venue which is a great inconvenience. It would have been a lot simpler to declare an odd-and-even scheme and reduce vehicular traffic by 50 percent. This would also save motorists from figuring out which road to take and avoid all the confusion.
The choice of holding the conference in Manila is also another matter. Would it have been better, perhaps, to have selected a different venue? Given the slowing economy of the country, three or four days lost in economic productivity is a lot. Maybe a more secluded place where there is a beach will probably be more appreciated by the leaders of countries located in the northern hemisphere where winter is about to set in. Maybe the selection of Manila is our President’s choice so that there will be less expenses. But hosting events like this will entail expenses no matter what and because of the loss of economic productivity, we might be losing more instead of saving. Maybe if Boracay, Cebu or Subic were chosen, this would be better in the long run since the money that will be spent to improve the infrastructure in these places will also improve their potential as tourist destinations.
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One Asian country that is undergoing profound changes is Myanmar. It has just concluded its elections that might propel the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to the pinnacle of political power of her country. This is despite the efforts of the Myanmar military establishment to prevent her from becoming the President. Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the Burmese independence leader General Aung San who was assassinated in 1947. He is a revered hero of the Burmese people.
The National League for Democracy party of Aung San Suu Kyi also won the elections of 1990 but the results were annulled by the military. Instead, Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest for over 20 years. In 2008, the military establishment drafted a constitution that made it impossible for Suu Kyi to become President. The constitution banned any citizen from becoming President if he or she has children or spouse who holds foreign citizenships. The military also has the power to appoint 25 percent of the members of parliament and reserved all the national security portfolios under its control.
In spite of that, however, it appears that the NLD has defied the odds and might win more than 70 percent of the votes which would allow NLD to form the government. The way they do it in Myanmar is different how we do it here. Theirs is a little more complicated. We will have to wait until April of next year to see the shape and form of government that will be formed.
Since she cannot be President, we will also have to wait and see how she will navigate the legal prohibition and still be able to lead and govern the country. She has already stated in an interview that she will be above the President. It would be interesting to see whether the military would allow this or not.
Senator Grace Poe must be following the developments in Myanmar with keen interest. If at all, her problem is somewhat similar to Aung San Suu Kyi. It is all about citizenship which prevents both from becoming officially the Presidents of their countries. Suu Kyi because of her children who are British and Senator Poe because of her citizenship and residency requirements. I have it from a good source as I have written a few weeks back that Senator Poe will almost certainly be disqualified by the Senate Electoral Tribunal. The administration will see to that. This after President Aquino tried so hard to convince her to be the running mate of Mar Roxas which really goes to show the kind of people running this government.
If this happens, Senator Poe will not only be disqualified from running for President but will also lose her seat in the Senate. Chiz Escudero could still possibly take her place and if he wins, Senator Grace could also be above the President like Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar. Senator Grace it seems is becoming more popular as her political problems grow. Already, her ratings are above 40 percent and approaching 50 percent. The maneuvering of this government is dangerous, to say the least. Let us hope it will not drive the country to a precipice that it will regret later.