Playing His Part

When action star Fernando Poe Jr. announced he was running for President of the Philippines last week, the Manila stock market fell nearly 2% and the peso tanked to its lowest level in a century. The Central Bank governor quickly announced that the markets weren't freaking out over Poe alone but were reacting to "a series of events over the last four weeks." Indeed: a band of congressmen tried (unsuccessfully) to impeach the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo saw a mini-exodus of officials, including respected Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho; kidnap gangs ran...