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victims’ worth. But law and order still remains a key concern for most Filipinos. Since the Constitution expressly forbids an incumbent president from standing twice in 1998, Ramos stood aside—somewhat reluctantly it seems—and a former film star, Joseph Estrada, was elected on a populist platform in a landslide result. Initial fears by the finance sector that Estrada’s playboy image, insupportable populist election promises and lack of experience in dealing with economic fundamentals—all in the midst of a regional financial crisis—would spell an end to the reform process initially proved unfounded. The new president proved willing to follow the advice of his experts and not engage in free-spending policies which might have unsettled investors and led to a flight of foreign capital. However, by the turn of the century, rumours were circulating that Estrada had taken bribes from illegal gambling syndicates. In late 2000, the House of Representatives began moves to impeach him amid claims of massive corruption. Estrada attempted to block the subsequent investigation, triggering large-scale protests that forced him to stand aside in January 2001. Vice-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo became president with strong support from the military, the business community and the Roman Catholic Church, although many poorer Filipinos refused to believe—and probably continue to do so—that their erstwhile hero was guilty of the corruption and mismanagement charges leveled against him. Arroyo, a former economist, immediately set out to reassure foreign investors by focusing on the economy. In particular, she accelerated plans to deregulate the power industry, state mismanagement of which had led to the country being subject to repeated brown-outs in the 1990s. She also committed her government to enacting other liberalisation measures, such as simplifying the tax code, and pledged to re-invigorate stalled efforts on land reform and poverty-reduction programmes (though these promises have been made by Filipino leaders many times in the past). In June 2004, she was elected president, with 40 per cent of the vote. Her nearest rival received 37 per cent. Despite the narrow result, it was an important boost to her authority as she had been appointed, not elected, as leader in 2001 following Estrada’s impeachment and could thus not hitherto claim a popular mandate. The next presidential context is scheduled for 2010 though in its present form, the constitution forbids Arroyo from seeking a second term. While progress has been made by the government in accommodating the demands of various insurgent groups in the restive southern provinces, sporadic incidents still flare up. The MNLF have mostly 138
A SHORT HISTORY OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA
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