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Business anywhere in the world is about money. It is
about pesos and centavos, dollars and cents. And businessmen prefer
someone—anyone—who helps them make money and maximize the
opportunities in the business environment. That is a person who uses
money well.
A couple of weeks ago the
Association of Stock Analysts of the Philippines (ASAP) reportedly
said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) did well under
its recently retired chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon.
ASAP stethoscopes the stock
market and the peso’s situation daily. Its members provide the
expert view on how politics and current events affect the bourse and
business as a whole. They obviously know what they are talking
about.
What ASAP probably meant is that
the AFP under Esperon has been good for business and the investment
climate.
No, Esperon cannot take credit
for the fact that during his term as AFP chief the stock market and
the peso were at their best levels ever. However, what cannot be
overlooked is the fact that the AFP under Esperon behaved well and
did nothing to jeopardize the country’s economic momentum over the
past two years.
Yes, the business sector likes
Esperon even if its leaders will not say it—except for ASAP, of
course.
What the business sector dislikes
is when the AFP is rocked by internecine strife, such as the 2003
Oakwood and 2006 Marine headquarters incidents. What coup plotters
and mutineers apparently ignore is that such incidents and
instability prominently figure in the reports of credit-rating
agencies and international investment counselors.
A troubled AFP would have serious
adverse consequences on businessmen, particularly those who work
with global partners and who source funds from the international
financial community. Instability could mean withdrawal of
investments—jeopardizing capital expenditures or sourcing funds at
higher rates.
All that Esperon prevented from
happening—and the business sector appreciates that.
Observers wondered why the peso
did not nosedive and why the bourse did not collapse when Trillanes
and company tried to duplicate their Oakwood caper when they
occupied the Manila Peninsula last November. The market coughed
momentarily and the peso let out a hiccup, but that was all.
Evidently the reason was that the
business community basically felt that Esperon was in full control.
It was never articulated but the sense was that he could handle the
situation. The business community was correct.
Coup plotters and mutineers
probably do not know it, but the business community seriously frowns
on military adventurism. Reason: mutinous capers cost money. Lots of
money. Taxpayer’s money.
And who pays a lot of taxes?
Businessmen. So, they indirectly shoulder the cost of the tantrums
of misguided AFP officers.
So, when the AFP enjoyed a
two-year respite from military adventurism, Esperon saved the
country money. And the business sector is happy about it.
The business sector is not averse
to funding the AFP. A robust and stable AFP is important to
business. And the sector is happy when tax money is properly spent
by our soldiers when they focus on their primary mission.
Businessmen are not saying it but
they have a stake too in Esperon’s counterinsurgency campaign. The
countryside is ripe for investments. In view of the tight supply of
food globally, agriculture has become the next sunshine industry.
Businessmen, however, cannot come
in and plough their money in the countryside to fund agricultural
projects if there is insurgency. They would rather not pay the New
People’s Army (NPA) revolutionary taxes, which jack up costs. They
also prefer not to shoulder hazard pay and other additional costs or
risks not to mention damage to property, which are always imminent
in NPA hotbeds.
Among the gains of the
counterinsurgency effort are the new areas for investments in the
countryside—more places to put in money, to create new enterprise
and to generate jobs.
Esperon’s detractors will be
scoffing at the AFP’s gains, but businessmen know better. Whether
one likes Esperon or not, one must agree that the money taxpayers
spent on the AFP during the past two years has been money well
spent.
dansoy26@yahoo.com
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