Philippine storms churn anger but change elusive

Filipino villagers carry relief goods as they walk along a road littered with logs and debris in General Nakar town in Quezon province. Picture / Reuters

MANILA - The Philippines has many laws on its books, but the fallout from a wave of deadly storms is again testing the political will to punish influential offenders.

In a country where soldiers have done pushups as penance for coup attempts, the government ordered a crackdown on unchecked logging after floods and landslides swept hundreds to their deaths and left tens of thousands of survivors with nothing.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose popularity ratings have dropped as public angst about graft and the economy rises, vowed to treat illegal loggers like "terrorists and kidnappers".

But commentators voiced weary resignation that this crisis would soon join many others in the mists of history.

"No politician will learn his lesson from the tragedy," the Philippine Star said in an editorial on Tuesday. "Once this story fades from the headlines, it will be happy days again for the illegal loggers and their protectors."

Vested interests are often accused of undermining official plans -- lobby groups for the timber industry have helped to quash attempts to ban logging since the 1980s -- but personality politics and corruption also play their parts.

Even with a rare majority in both houses of Congress, Arroyo has seen her economic reform agenda stall as lawmakers debate proposals to help the cash-strapped government raise revenues.

In the face of opposition from influential liquor and cigarette companies, a bill for higher "sin taxes" on alcohol and tobacco was watered down. The budget for this year was never passed as Congress turned its attention to other matters.

Past presidents have had equal trouble in gaining support for land reform, population control and constitutional change.

Pacific Strategies & Assessments, a Manila-based risk consultancy, had a sceptical view of prospects for swift action.

"Beyond the lack of political will that often inhibits any efforts to rid government of vested interests, corruption in the Philippines thrives because the system in place to investigate and prosecute known offenders is frail, under-funded and malleable to political influences," it said in a client report.

"In the end, Gloria is likely to risk economic meltdown before mustering any serious courage to weed out malefactors."

Political dynasties from powerful families endure election after election, but the platforms of parties are flexible. Many lawmakers feel the pull between allegiance to government policy and loyalty to campaign supporters and old friends.

Police, the military and state agencies are typically short of resources to enforce the law. Kickbacks and bribes share out complicity, hampering efforts to get to the roots of problems.

Underscoring the risks, nearly 60 journalists have been killed since dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in 1986, often as they reported on the activities of local politicians and businesspeople. There have been no convictions to date.

The saying "ningas cogon" (to set fire to dry grass) is commonly used to describe how Filipinos react passionately to events before their interest rapidly burns out.

In the past two years alone, many issues have exploded and then receded: a brief mutiny by elite troops, corruption in the military, a contested vote-count that narrowly gave Arroyo a new term and her warning that the country was in fiscal crisis.

Each time, news media seized on the story, congressional panels were convened and the government vowed sweeping changes.

As the Philippines mops up from the latest disaster, more laws are in the works. But real action could prove elusive.

"The established interests are carrying on because they win under the current context, so it's difficult to change that," said Steven Rood of the Asia Foundation, who has lived in the Philippines for 23 years.

"The administration has apparently not convinced itself that it really has the power to move forward after May's elections."

- REUTERS