On a visit to the Philippines last May, I reported on some of the damage wrought by Estrada's simplistic world view. Estrada's all-out war tore through one of the country's bread baskets, killed hundreds, uprooted hundreds of thousands, and threatened to engulf wider areas. This ignorant policy fed Christian chauvinism, and his popularity soared briefly. As in many poor, developing countries, where favors coursing though infinite webs of personal connections are important tools for survival, the culture of corruption permeates daily life in the Philippines. But it is a culture the Filipinos no longer necessarily want to live with.
Corruption is one big obstacle to national economic progress and real personal advancement.
The thousands who emigrate to other countries are seeking not only jobs, but also the opportunity to work in a system with reasonable rules of fair play. In the Philippines, therefore, any serious campaign against corruption would constitute a revolutionary act. The mounting protests against Estrada should be seen in this light. They are not just aimed at a sitting president. These protests signify a common hunger for a higher standard of governance.