Debt-trap diplomacy
WmeasuringITH the specter of corruption hounding the Dengvaxia controversy, I thought of the health profile of Filipinos against those of our Asian neighbors. In the World Health Organization’s 2015 figures, the world rank (WR) of our combined (male and female) life expectancy of 68.5 years was 124.
Only Myanmar (WR 129) is worse with a life expectancy of 66.6. We are worse than Indonesia’s (WR 120) 69.1, N. Korea’s (WR 109) 70.6 and South Korea’s (WR 11) 82.3.
Vietnam’s (WR 56) life expectancy is 76, better than number 71 Thailand’s 74.9. Top ranked is Japan’s life expectancy of 83.7. The top three leading causes of death are practically the same (stroke, coronary heart disease and influenza/ pneumonia) across all the compared countries with the exception of South Korea whose no. 2 killer is suicide.
IT’S called “debt trap diplomacy” and the Philippines seems eager to get trapped in it. I bumped into that term while googling about the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” infra program and government’s need for loans, a bulk of which would come from China, to fund it.
An article from Business Insider (www.businessinsider.com) caught my attention. The title of the article, written by Tara Francis Chan, is kilometric: “China’s debt-trap diplo- macy reaches the Philippines, which is likely to accept Chinese loans 1,100% more expensive than other options.”
But it also sums up what the point was all about. But first, I say this could be an illustration of China’s increasingly imperialist status. It is trying to reconfigure the existing global setup largely controlled by the United States as the lone superpower after the demise of the Soviet Union.
So on this, the United States may as well say, been there, done that. The US and the West, through such financial institutions as the World
Our no. 5 killer disease is tuberculosis. It is no. 8 in Vietnam, no. 13 in Thailand, no. 20 in N. Korea and outside the top 20 in both S. Korea and Japan (No. 5 is suicide).
This means our neighbors are able to provide their people with better nutrition, cleaner environment and adequate professional health services.
Overall, the governments of these other countries take better care of the health of their people.
The people of these countries have better access (defined in terms of affordability and availability) to effective professional private and/or public health care services.
Next, I looked at the correlation of the health profile with the corruption index. In 2016, Bank, have long used loans to be able to influence the economic direction of beholden nations. With China reaching imperialist status, it is using the same instrument but with seeming lack of scruples.
But it can do so because hard-up countries are more likely to bite when funds are dangled in front of them.
Let me quote a paragraph of the Business Insider article: “The loans from China, which will be used to fast-track infrastructure projects including a dam, railway project and irrigation system, come with an interest rate of 2% to 3%. But loans available from Japan have interest rates between 0.25 and 0.75%, up to 12 times cheaper than those from China.”
But why is the Philippines biting? Director-General Ernesto Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) has an answer: “We cannot get all the loans from ...Japan. Between 2 and 3% interest rate is still much better than commercial loans.” SSCebu
A hurried trip it was to Iloilo and back just to load up for the batchoy there. Back in Bacolod we are treated to dinner by a friend. We were asked what we still haven't tried. We have tried it all. We instead have Italian for this. At least I had salad for the first time. All loads of chicken and meat. Finally some greens from the backyard. Back to basic from food fatigue.
I am distraught as I get disqualified from an
Myanmar, she with the poorest health profile, is ranked 115 in corruption while the Philippines, with the next poorest health profile, is ranked 93 in corruption, same as Vietnam’s but higher than Thailand’s 83.
(These countries may be just slightly less corrupt than us but they seem to be better able to take care of their people’s health.) The directly inverse correlation is best demonstrated by South Korea’s high (least corrupt) rank of 39 and Japan’s 17. Next, I looked at the shared variable of religion. What is striking is that the main religions of all these countries have no direct positive impact on the behavior of their leaders.
It is in fact stunning that godless communist Vietnam takes better care of the health of their people than Christian Philippines, Buddhist Myanmar and Muslim Indonesia.
Christianity does not differentiate us from our neighbors in a good way as the figures would show. Still preached and practiced the medieval way of the colonizers, it has not mitigated the greed of leaders to any degree better than the main religions of other countries that are in fact taking better care of the health of their people.
The health profile of Christian Philippines is a picture of neglect. SSCebu from sin, by the cross.
It is a time to repent, go to confession, erase the marks and pages of sin, and live out the Gospel.
Each additional page given to us allows us the chance to write a new chapter and a proud and happy ending.
May the pages in your book and mine be filled with positive deeds that come from positive and righteous values and thoughts. There is a “forever and ever”. May we live happily ever after, after the last page!
infraction. I am at the back once more. Among the 10, I score 10 only. I will make up for next. Back to reality. Loads of advice and explaining to do for me.
As of you're reading, I will be flying back from Bacolod. Loaded with new memories. Loads of sweets too plus loaded with a heavy golf bag that will break my back. I will definitely come back to Bacolod again.