Purisima: Hostage crisis hardly to impact economy

The hostage-taking incident in Manila, which ended in a bloody siege late Monday and resulted in the death of nine Hong Kong nationals, was simply a criminal act and not a political event with dire ramifications on the Philippine economy, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said Tuesday. The incident “should not be a cause for concern," Purisima said in an interview with reporters when he emerged from a meeting with lawmakers whom he briefed on the administration’s fiscal targets for 2011. “It’s an individual event, not a political event. I think it’s very important to point out that, you know, in most countries, most cities, there are acts of crime. It’s one of those unfortunate acts of crime, but it’s not a politically motivated event (so) it should not be a cause for concern," Purisima said. The challenge for government is to properly communicate with other countries that the administration is in control of the situation. “The important thing, I think, for most of the financial markets is that we have a government that has a unanimous mandate, that has very high support and credibility," according to the finance chief said. Asked on the effect of the travel advisory (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/199234/hk-issues-travel-ban-to-rp-after-hostage-crisis) issued by the Hong Kong government against the Philippines because of the crisis, Purisima said it would be a decrease in tourist arrivals. A day after the hostage-taking, tourists from Hong Kong were cutting short their Philippine vacation. But a lawmaker was outraged by the way the crisis came about, considering it was perpetrated by a dismissed police officer, former Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza who was charged with robbery and extortion together with four other cops. He was dismissed from service in February 2009. Davao Representative Karlo Nograles, vice chairman of the House committee on human rights, urged government to review the way complaints and cases against police officers and AFP soldiers are processed. “These cases must be speedily decided and given due course with adequate remedies available to the respondents. They must be able to feel that justice is working," he said. —VS, GMANews.TV