‘Pearl of the Orient’ if not yet Asian tiger

This is in reaction to “Who’s the Asian tiger?” (Opinion, 8/18/16) by Peter Wallace.

In this column, Wallace made reference to an article that appeared in the Aug. 6, 2016, issue of The Economist: “Vietnam’s economy: The other Asian Tiger.”

With due respect, please allow me to take exception to Wallace’s opinion that “The Economist disagrees” with now-citizen Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino’s claim that the Philippines is now Asia’s rising tiger.

Why?

The Economist’s headline is telling “… other Asian tiger.” Consider also this line: “And which Asian economy… will be the continent’s next dynamo?” This indicates that the article’s author does not yet see Vietnam as a tiger and, therefore, Aquino did not lie.

According to the dictionary, a dynamo is a “generator, an extremely energetic person,” whose trailblazing trait Vietnam’s leadership and nationals have admirably in common. The article appears to have qualified: If Vietnam “can maintain a 7-percent pace over the next decade it will follow the same trajectory as erstwhile Asian tigers such as South Korea and Taiwan.”

The alleged disagreement with Aquino did not find print in the London-based magazine. In fact, no reference at all was made to our country, while on literacy skills, three Asean nations “lag behind,” and another country “forcing foreigners to buy inputs locally.”

But let the reader beware. In its weekly issue dated Aug. 13, 2016, The Economist featured two news features about the Philippines in Asia.

Please permit me, like Wallace did in his piece, to pick out the teaser lead and a subtitle in the first article, “War against crime in the Philippines, a harvest of lead”: “Rodrigo Duterte is living up to his promise to fight crime by shooting first and asking questions later” and “From Davao with bullets.”

The second article, “Philippine Politics: From plan to execution,” landed among The Economist editor’s picks.

An excerpt from the article: “The new president keeps his brutal campaign promise. . . . The longer the killings continue, the more damage is done to the rule of law. Last month, Alfred Ceasico, a drug user, was shot dead in his own home by a hitman who ran into the house as his sister, Sheryl, was leaving. Three days before his death, police had detained him and demanded more money than his family could afford; when they could not pay, she says, they beat him with a wooden plank. She does not know who shot him, but wants to tell her brother’s story. ‘Not all drug users are bad people,’ she says.”

The Economist, true to its calling, published both sides of the Du30 story. To end this piece on a positive note, our country indeed deserves its exclusive franchise as the “Pearl of the Orient,” if not an Asian tiger as yet.

—MANUEL Q. BONDAD,

Makati City