Among the member-states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), the Philippines and Thailand are similarly situated in both political and economic fronts, in more ways than one. Aside from our common physical features with our Asean brothers, Thais and Pinoys are also known for their resiliency as a people in the face of crisis like surviving the 1997 Asian financial crisis and frequent changes in government leadership due to coup d’ etat.
Thailand’s most recent change of leadership was the ouster of Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006. Thaksin’s overthrow — as in previous military-led coups — had the blessings no less of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Considered as the longest reigning monarch in the world, the Thai King has reigned through 17 military coups and 26 prime ministers since he ascended the throne in 1946. The 80-year old Thai Monarch, who is revered by his people, is turning a year older next month.
In the course of my coverage of presidential trips abroad in the past, I’ve visited several times Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. My first trip to Bangkok was in December 1995 when then President Fidel Ramos made his state visit to Thailand. As traditionally observed through these years on the King’s birthday, the streets of Bangkok were festooned with giant posters of the dapper-looking monarch in full military regalia.
Still naïve as a young reporter then about the Thai King, we thought the giant posters were that of Mr. Ramos. In case you had not noticed, Ramos and the Thai King are look-alikes. Looking back during those days, I teased Ramos about their strong resemblance. In his usual dry humor, he wisecracked that he was actually once been offered “to stand in” for the Thai King. But the ex-President hastily added he supposedly turned it down out of respect to King Adulyadej.
Anyway, I had good impressions about Bangkok during those days while the Thai capital was bristling with huge infrastructure projects all over the city. My distinct recollections of Bangkok included very slow moving traffic while the overhead highways were still under construction. We were told the bulk of these infrastructure projects all over Bangkok were being done by Filipino engineers and contractors all the way from the Philippines. More than a decade later, the Thai government’s investment priorities in basic infrastructure development through these years have paid off handsomely.
Thailand’s economic growth has brought prosperity to its people, especially those in the countryside. A good four years of Thailand’s economic growth undeniably could primarily be credited to what was subsequently christened as “Thaksinomics,” named after the ousted Thai leader.
Although he was ousted from office in a coup staged by former colleagues in the military establishment, Thaksin was not exactly unpopular to the Thais. They acknowledge Thaksin’s having spurred the economic growth of their homeland that emanated from the countryside. This was the concept of “one-town, one-product” where the Thai government poured funding support such as rural credit facilities and extension of technical assistance and other similar programs.
President Arroyo glowingly praised Thaksin’s “one-town, one-product” as a good model that the Philippines can effectively follow. Mrs. Arroyo even came up in 2004 with her own government’s copycat program she dubbed as “P1 million, one-product, one-town” that she replicated all over the country. I just don’t know how this Arroyo program fared.
Thus, it was no surprise to me when Thai media speculated that Thaksin, whose British visa was recently revoked, was reportedly planning to relocate himself and his wife Pojaman in Manila. The rumor flew thick last weekend when Thaksin’s brother-in-law, Somchai Wongsawat, who is the incumbent Prime Minister of Thailand, was set to make a quick official visit to Manila.
Premier Somchai flew to Manila on Monday afternoon and met with President Arroyo at Malacañang Palace where he formally invited her to attend the scheduled Asean Leaders’ summit slated to be held in Chiang Mai next month. Palace officials, however, were quick to douse rumors that Premier Somchai discussed with Mrs. Arroyo about the possible asylum of Thaksin in Manila. While the Thai leader was here for a short while the President herself is again being besieged with coup rumors.
Thaksin has spent most of his time in self-imposed exile in Britain, where he bought and subsequently sold Manchester City football club. He returned to Thailand in February this year, but swiftly fled again in August after Pojaman was sentenced to three years in jail for tax evasion. For still unclear reasons, Britain revoked the visa of Thaksin and his wife. Tried and convicted in absentia last month, Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail for conflict of interest for allegedly helping his wife buy state-owned land using the clout of his office as the Prime Minister. Reports point to a number of countries willing to take in the multi-millionaire Thaksin.
The English-language The Nation quoted an unnamed source that Bahamas reportedly offered honorary citizenship for the Thaksin couple. The Bangkok Post quoted an unnamed source also saying that the couple is currently in China. It reported last week that Bolivia was considering offering Thaksin a post as an economic advisor. Although he has his business, Tamasek partners reportedly in the Philippines, Thaksin won’t find any refuge here because we have an extradition treaty.
The news about Thaksin reminded me to finally watch a DVD I bought a month ago but I did not have the time to watch. It was the movie “Bangkok Dangerous” starred in by Hollywood actor Nicholas Cage. The film was a remake of a Thai movie written and directed by Thai directors, the Pang Brothers and shot in Bangkok featuring many Thai actors and actresses. At the opening spiel of the movie, Cage who was playing the role of an assassin, narrated why he opted to accept a “hit” job in Bangkok. He said: “Because it’s corrupt. It’s dirty. It’s dense.” Now, we know we are not alone.