Fun and the Philippines

Continuing last week’s Philippines theme, the country’s new tourism slogan – “It’s more fun in the Philippines” – has certainly proved fun for bloggers, tweeters, and FBers (8 Jan), despite its alleged “copycat” qualities (6 Jan).

Less entertaining are warnings of a possible terror attack on a religious procession (9 Jan), and the conservative end of the economic growth forecasts for the year (7 Jan):

“Economists have warned that without strong consumer spending and private investments, growth would remain at low levels and this would stymie government efforts to curb poverty and spread income opportunities, particularly among marginalized Filipinos. In its latest Philippine Quarterly Update (PQU), the World Bank said the country's GDP growth last year would be only 3.7 percent while growth in 2012 is projected to improve to 4.2 percent.”

Meanwhile, the Philippines “has protested a new ‘intrusion’ by China in waters it claims to be Philippine territory” (8 Jan).

Aileen San Pablo-Baviera noted recently (5 Jan) that “the Aquino government’s tougher posture towards China with regard to the South China Sea disputes is changing the atmospherics of this long-standing regional security issue”, but the jury is still out on whether this strategy will get better results than the process of non-confrontation espoused by the more traditional approach. Nor are all ASEAN states “comfortable” with the change:

“Manila appears convinced that it is time to move beyond mere confidence building to a resolution of the conflict, but the response from other ASEAN countries has been tepid… During the ASEAN summit in Bali in November 2011, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario challenged ASEAN to ‘play a decisive role…if it desires to realise its aspirations for global leadership’. However ASEAN Chair and Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa made it clear that the priority remains concluding a regional code of conduct with China… Some observers may find that the recent rhetoric and confrontational approach by Philippine officials deviate from the path of constructive diplomacy that ASEAN seeks to pursue with China. Moreover, the strong US presence that the Philippines envisions for the region’s maritime security may not be welcomed by all ASEAN states… The immediate challenge for the Philippines is persuading both ASEAN neighbours and China that the solidarity and support it seeks is not for promoting Philippine claims or for ganging up on China. The larger aim is to institute cooperative solutions addressing the roots of the conflict based on international law.”

If only its under-rated tourist potential were the Philippines' biggest headache. 

UPDATE (13 Jan): There's an interesting little reflection on the new tourism campaign here.