THE saying that “when the US sneezes, the whole world gets a cold,” is again coming true with the latest hard fall of the Lehman
Brothers investment bank and Merryl Lynch.

Sadly, there is news that AIG, which is the mother company of Philamlife, is reported to be floundering, except that the US federal government has rescued it to the tune of a $85-billion infusion.

Reports are now rife that several banks in the Philippines may not only catch cold, they may go down with the flu due to their exposure to these banking giants. BDO, Metrobank and many other banks, although with lesser exposures, are adversely affected, so we can only hope that this meltdown will not be beyond repair.

The peso, which has been riding high in the past few months, is suddenly reeling from the impact of the US financial problems. What is happening in Wall Street is now being felt by the Philippine stock market, and the once-strong peso is inching toward P50:$1. All these developments can only mean that no matter how strong our economic fundamentals are, our economy can still suffer from the aftershocks caused by the tremors of the world’s economic giants.

Even Europe is now starting to feel the heat of the US meltdown. As reports indicate, several banks in England are already en route to bankruptcy. We hope that these adverse global economic developments will be righted soon enough and restore financial normalcy after this turbulent times.

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Good news! The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that “the Philippines is in a better position to face [the] global financial crisis due to the fiscal reforms of 2005-06” and that “continued vigilance will help prepare for coping with any externally induced repercussions.”

It is saying what we have been confirming all these time that the financial policies of the President is proving to be the key for the country’s financial stability and for us to weather the global financial meltdown. Now let her critics refute the IMF.

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We are happy that the price of oil appears to be ebbing as indicated by the world market price index which has already gone down to just $90 a barrel, notwithstanding the announcement of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that it will reduce production down to about half a million barrels a day.

The Philippines certainly welcomes this salutary development because we are a country wholly dependent on oil imports since we are not an oil-producing country. With this development, let us hope that prices of prime commodities will remain stable and our transport sector will show its patriotic colors and forget about its usual penchant for holding transport strikes, to the detriment of the commuting public.

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Another good argument for revisiting Republic Act (RA) 7610, the law providing special protection against child abuse, etc., is the report that in Zamboanga City, boys as young as 15 years old carried out the kidnapping of four peace advocates in Basilan.

This report is just one of many regarding teenagers who are already veterans in waging acts of terrorism. It is about time that RA 7610 be revisited, perhaps to return to the old child-abuse law where the age of discernment, for purposes of criminal liability, starts after a boy reaches 9 years of age.

Today, many criminal syndicates take advantage of the porosity of RA 7610 and use children in carrying our their criminal activities. Drug pushers, for one, use children as drug couriers because when arrested, these children will not be sent to jail but will either be turned over to the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, or to their parents.

Statistics will show that thousands of teenage boys and girls already indulge in illegal drugs, just as many of them engage in sex orgies. If we still dream that our youth are the fair hopes of the Fatherland, there is no way that the liberalism under RA 7610 can make the dream of Jose Rizal come true.

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There is one bit of good news: The National Census and Statistics Office has reported that the employment index in the country has improved, which is again one good indicator that the economic policy of President Arroyo is sound. In many countries, including the US, unemployment is up. In the Philippines, unemployment is down. I believe that congratulations are in order.

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