News for Headlines

Now, this news I read from Bloomberg is indeed good news for the Philippines. It should have been the headline in all local papers. All radio comentators and opinion makers should have been talking about it no end. It should have been analyzed extensively, so that people would really know what is good and bad economics.

The Philippine peso, spurned for a decade, is Asia's best performing currency this year after President Gloria Arroyo raised taxes to cut the budget deficit.

The peso rose 4.2 percent in 2005 after Arroyo imposed sales taxes on exempt goods and services including fuel and doctors fees. This year's gain followed a 51 percent drop between 1994 and 2004 as a revolution ousted Arroyo's predecessor and the budget deficit swelled to a record.

``Disaster had been priced into the peso, but they dodged the bullet,'' said Sean Callow, a currency strategist in Singapore at Westpac Banking Corp. ``It's been a pretty remarkable turnaround. Arroyo deserves some of the credit.'' ...

Hmmm. "Arroyo deserves some of the credit"... well there it goes. Perhaps there is the reason why this bit of good news is largely ignored by Philippine media: No credit can go to Arroyo! Or perhaps the news is so good for Arroyo that she needs to pay to get it headlined?

There goes the Philippine "free" press.