Don't be fooled by the modern veneer of the Philippines. It is a have and have not country where outsiders are spared much of the brutality and injustice. Muslim and communist separatists have been battling various Manila governments for nearly 30 years, resulting in more than 10,000 firefights between insurgents and government troops during that time. More than 120,000 people have been killed. As both rebel groups told me, the government needs the rebels to keep peoples' minds off how bad the economy is.
The government has kept a relative lid on the extremist problem-in the interests of promoting tourism-until the recent terrorist plot to kill the Pope and blow up numerous airliners simultaneously. Meanwhile, army rebels are busy plotting the next coup of the month. In all, the mayhem keeps the hotel rates down.
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