Crime is one of the biggest reasons why many countries are poor. You can think of any country worse than the Philippines. They have incredible high crime rate. It made me think that the Philippines really needs a serious grip on crime. It cannot be ignored if the slogan "It's More Fun in the Philippines" is an objective you want to be real, not just a slogan to advertise.
One should consider the Rolando Mendoza incident which happened last August 23, 2010. It wasn't any fun for the tourists to be held hostage, eight of them were shot down by this scumbag. You can think of how it damaged tourism. Hong Kong had a strain with the Philippines because of that hostage crisis. Being hostage is never more fun in the Philippines nor anywhere else around the world. The huge mishandling of the incident is a terrible lesson for the Philippine law enforcement.
One may also consider why Tondo hardly gets investments and tourism. Stinky slums, high crime rates... anybody who calls this place as the "best place on Earth" might as well live in Bangladesh. Tondo is the little Bangladesh of the Philippines. I couldn't imagine holding a business in a place like Tondo filled with unruly people. It's not only a source for bad labor, it's also a source for bad customers and gangs. One may consider how business will be very poor in Tondo. Some people even leave Tondo, they succeed (but not necessarily become billionaires just that they are no longer poor and living decent lives) and NEVER return to that rathole that is Tondo.
On the other hand, I thought about Cebu's crime rate dropping since the return of Tomas Osmena. Having cops who are willing to shoot a person to save an innocent does help. Just recently, I am pleased to hear how the Visayan drug war is going on. When a city is serious against crime, it becomes inviting to investments. Just think of how Cebu had emerged thanks to a strong drive against crime. A strong drive against crime will be very inviting to investors. Michael Rama the current mayor is also serious on the war on crime, furthering Cebu's development.
Looking back, one may consider why the Ramos administration in spite of its blunders increased tourism? Ramos was serious with crime even if he made the blunder of declaring Flor Contemplacion a heroine when she wasn't. What he did was to restore capital punishment. It's swift justice... at the same time more humane than life imprisonment. During Ramos' administration, the Philippines was experiencing some recovery in spite of his blunders. When death penalty got removed, corruption index soared high again! If crime rate is lowered, just think of how much better the Philippines will be!
One may consider why Singapore is a business place. It's serious with its war on crime, even against its own citizens. You have people who are serious about crime like how Singaporeans helped the Vietnamese guy get out of his predicament from a cellphone store that scams tourists. Cebu somehow is starting to adopt some of Singapore's practices. Some Cebuanos even warn tourists of cheaters in Cebu. Covering up crime does not help but makes every problem worse. Like cancer, it must be removed before it spreads.
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