​Fire and rain

PHILIPPINES - In Brief 21 Dec 2016 by Romeo Bernardo

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As the body count from President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war keeps rising – 6000 is the latest number – and the President lately admitting in a BBC interview to have killed 3 people in his Davao days – we are reminded of a long-ago observation that the Philippines has a knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Recent data, showing a 34% drop in net FDI inflows in 3Q16, a 45% fall in investment pledges in economic zones over the same period, and a weakening in fourth quarter business confidence to its lowest since 2011, back up anecdotal reports we have been hearing of investors simply walking away. If this continues, the Duterte administration is bound to miss its goal of achieving inclusive growth through more investments in job-creating ventures. And despite the President’s “very good” public satisfaction rating in the 4Q16 SWS survey, his bloody drug war has unsettled the majority of Filipinos, with 78% saying that they worry that someone from their family will be a victim of extrajudicial killing. But is the President taking heed? Our title for this Note is taken from Grammy award winner James Taylor’s well-loved song where he sang about his drug addiction and eventual recuperation. Today, he added his voice to the growing protest against extrajudicial killing, cancelling his Manila concert and saying that “recent reports from the Philippines of summary executions of suspected offenders without trial or judicial process are deeply concerning and unacceptable to anyone who loves the rule of law.”