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Malacañang should seriously consider a more comprehensive way of
resolving the pockets of criminal extremism in impoverished areas of
Mindanao, the United Opposition (UNO) said today.
“Utak pulbura [gunpowder mentality] is the
best way to describe GMA’s campaign against the Abu Sayyaf. We
condemn all the atrocities committed against Ces Drilon and her
team, but the administration’s reaction without considering the
real roots of Moro insurgency is not only shortsighted but can
ultimately prove foolish,” UNO spokesman Atty. Adel Tamano said.
Tamano cautioned authorities that, “You can,
in your anger, wipe out Moro insurgents but unless the roots of
poverty, lack of education, marginalization and discrimination
against Filipino-Muslims are addressed, then all you are doing is
creating the conditions for a new and perhaps even worse batch of
insurgents to arise.”
Underscoring the country’s lackluster economic
performance under the Arroyo administration, Tamano, citing a recent
newspaper report, pointed out that the Philippines did poorly in its
ranking and trailed behind its Asean counterparts in the first
Global Enabling Trade Report 2008 recently released by the World
Economic Forum.
The country ranks 82nd among 118 economies
included in the report. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2008 aims
to present a cross-country analysis of the large number of measures
facilitating trade.
The Philippines achieved the lowest rank among
Asean member-countries, such as Singapore, which ranked second
overall with a score.
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