關於 bush plane ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

那年的今天，我在辦公室和同事們驚訝的看著電視螢幕。

On this day in 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush. #TDIH

Tổng hợp 100 IDIOMS thường dùng
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1. CATS AND DOGS: rain heavily (Mưa nặng hạt)
--> It's raining cats and dogs = It's raining heavily

2. CHALK AND CHEESE: very different from each other (rất khác nhau)
--> I don't have anything in common with my brother. We're like chalk and cheese.

3. HERE AND THERE: everywhere
--> I have been searching here and there for the gift I bought for my girlfriend.

4. A HOT POTATO: something that is difficulut or dangerous to deal with ( vấn đề nan giải )
--> The abortion issue is a hot potato in the US

5. AT THE DROP OF A HAT: immediately, instantly
--> If you need me, just call me. I can come at the drop of a hat.

6. BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD: time to start from the beginning; it is time to to plan something over again (bắt đầu lại)
--> My plans to create a tiny car made of glasses were unsuccessful, so I guess it's back to the drawing board for me.

7. BEAT ABOUT THE BUSH: avoiding the main topic, not speaking directly about the issue (nói vòng vo, lạc đề)
--> Stop beating about the bush and answer my question.

8. BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD: a good invention or innovation, a good idea or plan
--> Portable phones are marketed as the best thing since sliced bread; people think they are extremely good.

9. BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL: to stay up working, especially studying late at night (thức khuya làm việc, học bài)
--> I will have a big exam tomorrow so I'll be burning the midnight oil tonight.

10. CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO STOOLS: when someone finds it difficult to choose between two alternatives (tiến thoái lưỡng nan)

11. BREAK A LEG : good luck! ( thường dùng để chúc may mắn )
--> I have heard that you'r gonna take a test tomorrow, break a leg, dude!!! (sounds funny hah???) :))

12. HIT THE BOOKS : to study (học)
--> I can't go out tonight. I've got to hit the books. I'm having an exam tomorrow.

13. WHEN PIGS FLY : something will never happen (điều vô tưởng, không thể xảy ra, nhớ là "pigs" đừng nhầm với con vật khác nhé)

14. SCRATCH SOMEONE'S BACK: help someone out with the assumption that they will return the favor in the future (giúp đỡ người khác với hy vọng họ sẽ giúp lại mình)
--> "You scratch my back and I will scratch yours later," the customer said when we talked about the new sales contact.

15. HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD : do or say something exactly right (nói chính xác, làm chính xác)
--> Mike hit the nail on the head when he said most people can use a computer without knowing how it works.

16. TAKE SOMEONE/SOMETHING FOR GRANTED: coi nhẹ
--> One of the problems with relationships is that after a while you begin to take each other for granted!!

17. TAKE SOMETHING INTO ACCOUNT/ CONSIDERATION: to remember to consider something (tính đến cái gì, xem xét việc gì)
--> We will take your long year of service into account when we make our final decision.

18. PUT SOMEONE/SOMETHING AT SOMEONE'S DISPOSAL: to make someone or something available to someone (có sẵn theo ý muốn của ai)
--> I'd be glad to help you if you need me. I put myself at your disposal.

19. SPLITTING HEADACHE: a severe headache (đau đầu như búa bổ) (khi ra thi sẽ hỏi từ "Splitting")
--> I've got a splitting headache. I'm going upstairs for a nap.

20. ON THE HOUSE: không phải trả tiền
--> I went to a restaurant last night. I was the ten thousandth customer, so my dinner was on the house.

21. HIT THE ROOF = GO THROUGH THE ROOF = HIT THE CEILING: to suddenly become angry (giận dữ)
--> I''m afraid he will hit the roof when he finds out our vacation is canceled

22. MAKE SOMEONE'S BLOOD BOIL: làm ai sôi máu, giận dữ

23. BRING DOWN THE HOUSE: làm cho cả khán phòng vỗ tay nhiệt liệt
--> G-Dragon brought the house down. He really brought down the house with his fantastic song.

24. PAY THROUGH THE NOSE: to pay too much for something (trả giá quá đắt)
--> If you want a decent wine in a restaurant , you to have to pay through the nose for it.

25. BY THE SKIN OF ONE'S TEETH: sát sao, rất sát
--> I got through calculus math by the skin of my teeth.
--> I got to the airport a few minutes late and missed the plane by the skin of my teeth.

26. PULL SOMEONE'S LEG: chọc ai
--> You don't mean that. You're just pulling my leg.

27. IT STRIKE SOMEBODY AS/THAT A STRANGE: lấy làm lạ
--> It strikes as a strange to me that he failed the exam because he is so smart and diligent a student.

28. TAKE IT AMISS: to understand as wrong or insulting, or misunderstand (hiểu lầm)
--> Would you take it amiss if I told you I thought you look lovely? I was afraid you'd take it the wrong way.

29. HIGH AND LOW = HERE AND THERE: everywhere
--> I have been searching high and low for the gift I bought for my girlfriend.

30. THE MORE, THE MERRIER: càng đông càng vui
--> Can I bring some friends with me?Yeah sure, the more, the merrier.

31. SPICK AND SPAN: ngăn nắp gọn gàng

32. EVERY NOW AND THEN: sometimes

33. PART AND PARCEL: integral, crucial ( thiết yếu, quan trọng)

34. GO TO ONE'S HEAD: khiến ai kiêu ngạo
--> Too much success will go to her head.

35. ONCE IN A BLUE MOON: rất hiếm (rare)
--> Once in a blue moon, I stop thinking about her. If only she knew how much I loved her.

36. FEW AND FAR BETWEEN : rare (hiếm gặp)
--> Go and tell her that you love her! That kind of girl is really few and far between

37. ON THE SPOT:(1) immediately (ngay lập tức)
--> I expect you to be on the post when and where trouble arises
(2): in trouble; in a difficult situation (gặp rắc rối)
--> I hate to be on the spot when it's not my fault

38. ON THE VERGE OF = ON THE BRINK OF = IN THE EDGE OF: trên bờ vực
--> Unless we take measures to protect tigers, they will be on the verge of extinction. (lưu ý: take measures: đưa ra biện pháp)

39. IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS: good or bad things do not just happen a few at a time, but in large numbers all at once (họa vô đơn chí)

40. BE ON THE WAGON: kiêng rượu
--> Bob's old drinking buddies complained that he was no fun when he went on the wagon
IDIOMS (DAY 5)

41. LED SOMEBODY BY THE NOSE: to control someone and make them do exactly what you want them to do (nắm đầu, dắt mũi ai)
--> They simply didn't know what they were doing and they were led by the nose by a manipulative government

42. AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR: vào phút chót
--> She always turned her term paper in at the eleventh hour.

42. SELL/GO LIKE HOT CAKES: bán đắt như tôn tươi
--> During the days when the temperature dropped under 10C, electric heaters sold/went like hot cakes in the Northern cities of Vietnam.

43. FIND FAULT WITH: chỉ trích, kiếm chuyện, bắt lỗi
--> It is very easy to find fault with the work others.

44. OFF AND ON/ ON AND OFF: không đều đặn, thỉnh thoảng
--> We don't often go there- just off and on.

45. MAKE BELIEVE: giả bộ, giả vờ
--> I tried to make believe she was happy, but knew deep down it was not true.

46. MAKE GOOD TIME: di chuyển nhanh, đi nhanh.
--> We made good time and were at the hotel by lunch time.

47. LOOK DAGGERS AT SOMEONE: giận giữ nhìn ai đó
--> Their relationship is not free and easy but at least he is no longer looking daggers at her.

48. BE OUT OF THE QUESTION: không thể được
--> You cannot get married until you are 18, it's out of the question.

49. ALL AT ONCE = suddenly: bất thình lình
--> All at once, there was a loud banging on the door.

50. BLOW ONE'S TRUMPET: bốc phét, khoác lác
--> Anyone will tell you she's one of the best journalist we've got, although she'd never blow her trumpet.

51. SLEEP ON IT: suy nghĩ thêm về điều gì đó.
--> You don't have to give me your decision now. Sleep on it, and let me know tomorrow.

52. FIGHT TOOTH AND CLAW/NAIL: đánh nhau dữ dội, cấu xé nhau
--> We fought tooth and claw to retain our share of business.

53. PLAY TRICKS/JOKES ON: chọc phá, trêu ghẹo, chơi khăm

54. DOWN THE DRAIN: đổ sông đổ biển (công sức, tiền bạc)
--> It's just money down the drain.

55. SMELL A RAT: hoài nghi, linh cảm chuyện không ổn
--> The minute I came in, I smelled a rat.

56. THE LAST STRAW: giọt nước tràn ly
--> When she showed up late a third time, that was the last straw. We had to fire her.

57. GET THE HAND OF SOMETHING: nắm bắt được, sử dụng được
--> After three weeks of using this computer, I think I've finally got the hand of it.

58. HARD OF HEARING: lãng tai, nặng tai
--> Tom is hard of hearing. Therefore, we have to speak loudly so that he can hear us.

59. KEEP AN EYE ON: coi chừng, ngó chừng
--> Please keep an eye on my baby while I'm out for a while.

60. HAVE A BEE IN ONE'S BONNET (ABOUT SOMETHING): đặt nặng chuyện gì, chấp nhất chuyện gì
--> She has a bee in her bonnet about going to America.

61. GET/HAVE COLD FEET: mất hết can đảm, chùn bước
--> I'm worried my members in this page may be getting cold feet about the university entrance exam. Therefore, I will try my best to help them overcome this severe exam. ^O^ *tặng mem*

62. ON SECOND THOUGHTS: suy nghĩ kĩ
--> On second thoughts, it was a dumb movie.

63. IN VAIN: uổng công, vô ích
--> Government agents tried in vain kidnap him.

64. CHIP IN: khuyên góp, góp tiền
--> If everyone chips in, we will be able to buy her a nice present.

65. OFF ONE'S HEAD: điên, loạn trí
--> The old man has been off his head for at least a year.

66. RUN AN ERRAND: làm việc vặt
--> I've got to run an errand. I'll be back in a minute.

67. JUMP THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS: vượt đèn đỏ
--> They ignore people who jumps the traffic lights.

68. FLY OFF THE HANDLE: dễ nổi giận, phát cáu
--> No one will fly off the handle for no reason.

69. THE APPLE OF ONE'S EYES: đồ quý giá của ai
--> You are the apple of my eyes ^O^

70. BUCKET DOWN: mưa xối xả, mưa to
--> It's been bucketing down all day.

71. CLOSE SHAVE = NARROW ESCAPE: thoát chết trong gang tấc
--> Phew, that was a close shave. I was so lucky.

72. DROP A BRICK : lỡ lời, lỡ miệng
--> I dropped a brick when talking with my best friend, and now she doesn't want to talk to me.

73. GET BUTTERFLIES IN ONE'S STOMACH: cảm thấy bồn chồn
--> I always get butterflies in my stomach when it comes to taking test

74. OFF THE RECORD: không chính thức, không được công bố
--> What the president said is not to be printed. It's off the record

75. ONE'S CUP OF TEA: thứ mà ta thích
--> SNSD is my cup of tea. They are so beautiful and talented. Especially Seohyun, she looks so cute

76. CUT IT FINE: đến sát giờ
--> Only allowing half an hour to get from the station to the airport is cutting it fine, isn't it?

77. GOLDEN HANDSHAKE: món tiền hậu hĩnh dành cho người sắp nghỉ việc
--> The manager got early retirement and a 600,000$ golden handshake when the company was restructed.

78. PUT ON AN ACT: giả bộ, làm bộ
--> We've known you are a good swimmer - stop putting on an act.

79. COME TO LIGHT: được biết đến, được phát hiện, được đưa ra ánh sáng.
--> Four soldiers have faced charges since the scandal came to light last fall

80. TAKE THINGS TO PIECES: tháo ra từng mảnh
--> Men like to take things to pieces and put them together.

81. PUT ONE'S FOOT IN IT: gây nhầm lẫn, bối rối, phạm một sai lầm gây bối rối
--> I really put my foot in it when I asked her about her job. I didn't know she'd just been fired.

82. PULL ONE'S WEIGHT: nỗ lực, làm tròn trách nhiệm
--> The rest of the team complained that Sarah wasn't pulling her weight.

83. MAKE ENDS MEET: xoay sở để kiếm sống
--> I have to work at two jobs to make ends meet.

84. GET THE HOLD OF THE WRONG END OF THE STICK: hiểu nhầm ai đó
--> I think I must explain to her that she got hold of the wrong end of the stick again.

85. CUT AND DRIED: cuối cùng, không thể thay đổi, rõ ràng, dễ hiểu
--> Although a deal has been agreed, it is not yet cut-and-dried.
--> The human rights issue is by no means cut-and-dried.

86. STAY/KEEP ON ONE'S TOE: cảnh giác, thận trọng
--> We had better keep on our toes while we're walking along the dark portions of this street.

87. SEE EYE TO EYE: đồng tình
--> I'm glad that they see eye to eye on the matter of the conference location.

88. HAVE IN MIND: đang suy tính, cân nhắc
--> I don't want to see a movie now, I have in mind going to the park.

89. A LOST CAUSE: hết hy vọng, không thay đổi được gì
--> It seems that Charles will give it up. I suppose he is a lost cause.

90. TO BE BOUND TO: chắc chắn
--> You're bound to be late if you don't hurry.

91. AT HEART: thực chất, cơ bản (basically, fundamentally)
--> James sometimes seems quite unfriendly but at heart he's a good person.

92. TO KNOW BY SIGHT: nhận ra (recognize)
--> The woman said that she would know the thief by sight if she ever saw him again.

93. NOW AND THEN = NOW AND AGAIN = AT TIMES = FROM TIME TO TIME = OFF AND ON = ONCE IN A WHILE = EVERY SO OFTEN : sometimes (thỉnh thoảng, không thường xuyên)

94. TO TAKE PAINS: làm việc cẩn thận và tận tâm
--> She takes pains to do everything well.

95. TO MAKE DO: xoay sở, đương đầu (to manage, to cope)
--> During difficult economic times, many people have to make do with less.

96. CLOSE CALL = CLOSE SHAVE = NARROW ESCAPE: thoát được nguy hiểm trong gang tấc, mém chết!

97. SELL SOMEONE SHORT: đánh giá thấp

98. FACE THE MUSIC: chịu trận
--> Mary broke a dining-room window and had to face the music when her father got home.

99. LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG: để lộ bí mật

100. ON PROBATION: trong thời gian quản chế
--> While Anne was on probation, she reported to the police regularly.
--> John was on probation for a year.

A GOOD READ from one of the greatest leader that lived, #SINGAPORE's founding man, #LeeKuanYew

THIS MUST BE SHARED AND THOROUGHLY READ BY EVERY FILIPINO... Its quite long but it will surely strengthen our minds but then at the end, I was like "SAYANG!!!"
It came from the SINGAPORE'S FOUNDING MAN ITSELF, former Prime Minister LEE KUAN YEW on how the Philippines should have become, IF ONLY...

I've just read it and, its point blank!
Its a good read
____________

(The following excerpt is taken from pages 299 – 305 from Lee Kuan Yew’s book “From Third World to First”, Chapter 18 “Building Ties with Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei”)

*

The Philippines was a world apart from us, running a different style of politics and government under an American military umbrella. It was not until January 1974 that I visited President Marcos in Manila. When my Singapore Airlines plane flew into Philippine airspace, a small squadron of Philippine Air Force jet fighters escorted it to Manila Airport. There Marcos received me in great style – the Filipino way. I was put up at the guest wing of Malacañang Palace in lavishly furnished rooms, valuable objects of art bought in Europe strewn all over. Our hosts were gracious, extravagant in hospitality, flamboyant. Over a thousand miles of water separated us. There was no friction and little trade. We played golf, talked about the future of ASEAN, and promised to keep in touch.

His foreign minister, Carlos P. Romulo, was a small man of about five feet some 20 years my senior, with a ready wit and a self-deprecating manner about his size and other limitations. Romulo had a good sense of humor, an eloquent tongue, and a sharp pen, and was an excellent dinner companion because he was a wonderful raconteur, with a vast repertoire of anecdotes and witticisms. He did not hide his great admiration for the Americans. One of his favourite stories was about his return to the Philippines with General MacArthur. As MacArthur waded ashore at Leyte, the water reached his knees but came up to Romulo’s chest and he had to swim ashore. His good standing with ASEAN leaders and with Americans increased the prestige of the Marcos administration. Marcos had in Romulo a man of honor and integrity who helped give a gloss of respectability to his regime as it fell into disrepute in the 1980s.

In Bali in 1976, at the first ASEAN summit held after the fall of Saigon, I found Marcos keen to push for greater economic cooperation in ASEAN. But we could not go faster than the others. To set the pace, Marcos and I agreed to implement a bilateral Philippines-Singapore across-the-board 10 percent reduction of existing tariffs on all products and to promote intra-ASEAN trade. We also agreed to lay a Philippines-Singapore submarine cable. I was to discover that for him, the communiqué was the accomplishment itself; its implementation was secondary, an extra to be discussed at another conference.

We met every two to three years. He once took me on a tour of his library at Malacañang, its shelves filled with bound volumes of newspapers reporting his activities over the years since he first stood for elections. There were encyclopedia-size volumes on the history and culture of the Philippines with his name as the author. His campaign medals as an anti-Japanese guerrilla leader were displayed in glass cupboards. He was the undisputed boss of all Filipinos. Imelda, his wife, had a penchant for luxury and opulence. When they visited Singapore before the Bali summit they came in stye in two DC8’s, his and hers.

Marcos did not consider China a threat for the immediate future, unlike Japan. He did not rule out the possibility of an aggressive Japan, if circumstances changed. He had memories of the horrors the Imperial Army had inflicted on Manila. We had strongly divergent views on the Vietnamese invasion and occupation of Cambodia. While he, pro forma, condemned the Vietnamese occupation, he did not consider it a danger to the Philippines. There was the South China Sea separating them and the American navy guaranteed their security. As a result, Marcos was not active on the Cambodian question. Moreover, he was to become preoccupied with the deteriorating security in his country.

Marcos, ruling under martial law, had detained opposition leader Benigno (Ninoy) Aquino, reputed to be as charismatic and powerful a campaigner as he was. He freed Aquino and allowed him to go to the United States. As the economic situation in the Philippines deteriorated, Aquino announced his decision to return. Mrs. Marcos issued several veiled warnings. When the plane arrived at Manila Airport from Taipei in August 1983, he was shot as he descended from the aircraft. A whole posse of foreign correspondents with television camera crews accompanying him on the aircraft was not enough protection.

International outrage over the killing resulted in foreign banks stopping all loans to the Philippines, which owed over US$25 billion and could not pay the interest due. This brought Marcos to the crunch. He sent his minister for trade and industry, Bobby Ongpin, to ask me for a loan of US$300-500 million to meet the interest payments. I looked him straight in the eye and said, “We will never see that money back.” Moreover, I added, everyone knew that Marcos was seriously ill and under constant medication for a wasting disease. What was needed was a strong, healthy leader, not more loans.

Shortly afterward, in February 1984, Marcos met me in Brunei at the sultanate’s independence celebrations. He had undergone a dramatic physical change. Although less puffy than he had appeared on television, his complexion was dark as if he had been out in the sun. He was breathing hard as he spoke, his voice was soft, eyes bleary, and hair thinning. He looked most unhealthy. An ambulance with all the necessary equipment and a team of Filipino doctors were on standby outside his guest bungalow. Marcos spent much of the time giving me a most improbable story of how Aquino had been shot.

As soon as all our aides left, I went straight to the point, that no bank was going to lend him any money. They wanted to know who was going to succeed him if anything were to happen to him; all the bankers could see that he no longer looked healthy. Singapore banks had lent US$8 billion of the US$25 billion owing. The hard fact was they were not likely to get repayment for some 20 years. He countered that it would be only eight years. I said the bankers wanted to see a strong leader in the Philippines who could restore stability, and the Americans hoped the election in May would throw up someone who could be such a leader. I asked whom he would nominate for the election. He said Prime Minister Cesar Virata. I was blunt. Virata was a nonstarter, a first-class administrator but no political leader; further, his most politically astute colleague, defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile, was out of favour. Marcos was silent, then he admitted that succession was the nub of the problem. If he could find a successor, there would be a solution. As I left, he said, “You are a true friend.” I did not understand him. It was a strange meeting.

With medical care, Marcos dragged on. Cesar Virata met me in Singapore in January the following year. He was completely guileless, a political innocent. He said that Mrs. Imelda Marcos was likely to be nominated as the presidential candidate. I asked how that could be when there were other weighty candidates, including Juan Ponce Enrile and Blas Ople, the labor minister. Virata replied it had to do with “flow of money; she would have more money than other candidates to pay for the votes needed for nomination by the party and to win the election. He added that if she were the candidate, the opposition would put up Mrs. Cory Aquino and work up the people’s feelings. He said the economy was going down with no political stability.

The denouement came in February 1986 when Marcos held presidential elections which he claimed he won. Cory Aquino, the opposition candidate, disputed this and launched a civil disobedience campaign. Defense Minister Juan Enrile defected and admitted election fraud had taken place, and the head of the Philippine constabulary, Lieutenant General Fidel Ramos, joined him. A massive show of “people power” in the streets of Manila led to a spectacular overthrow of a dictatorship. The final indignity was on 25 February 1986, when Marcos and his wife fled in U.S. Air Force helicopters from Malacañang Palace to Clark Air Base and were flown to Hawaii. This Hollywood-style melodrama could only have happened in the Philippines.

Mrs. Aquino was sworn in as president amid jubilation. I had hopes that this honest, God-fearing woman would help regain confidence for the Philippines and get the country back on track. I visited her that June, three months after the event. She was a sincere, devout Catholic who wanted to do her best for her country by carrying out what she believed her husband would have done had he been alive, namely, restore democracy to the Philippines. Democracy would then solve their economic and social problems. At dinner, Mrs. Aquino seated the chairman of the constitutional commission, Chief Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, next to me. I asked the learned lady what lessons her commission had learned from the experience of the last 40 years since independence in 1946 would guide her in drafting the constitution. She answered without hesitation, “We will not have any reservations or limitations on our democracy. We must make sure that no dictator can ever emerge to subvert the constitution.” Was there no incompatibility of the American-type separation of powers with the culture and habits of the Filipino people that had caused problems for the presidents before Marcos? Apparently none.

Endless attempted coups added to Mrs. Aquino’s problems. The army and the constabulary had been politicized. Before the ASEAN summit in December 1987, a coup was threatened. Without President Suharto’s firm support the summit would have been postponed and confidence in Aquino’s government undermined. The Philippine government agreed that the responsibility for security should be shared between them and the other ASEAN governments, in particular the Indonesian government. General Benny Moerdani, President Suharto’s trusted aide, took charge. He positioned an Indonesian warship in the middle of Manila Bay with helicopters and a commando team ready to rescue the ASEAN heads of government if there should be a coup attempt during the summit. I was included in their rescue plans. I wondered if such a rescue could work but decided to go along with the arrangements, hoping that the show of force would scare off the coup leaders. We were all confined to the Philippine Plaza Hotel by the seafront facing Manila Bay where we could see the Indonesian warship at anchor. The hotel was completely sealed off and guarded. The summit went off without any mishap. We all hoped that this show of united support for Mrs. Aquino’s government at a time when there were many attempts to destabilize it would calm the situation.

It made no difference. There were more coup attempts, discouraging investments badly needed to create jobs. This was a pity because they had so many able people, educated in the Philippines and the United States. Their workers were English-speaking, at least in Manila. There was no reason why the Philippines should not have been one of the more successful of the ASEAN countries. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was the most developed, because America had been generous in rehabilitating the country after the war. Something was missing, a gel to hold society together. The people at the top, the elite mestizos, had the same detached attitude to the native peasants as the mestizos in their haciendas in Latin America had toward their peons. They were two different societies: Those at the top lived a life of extreme luxury and comfort while the peasants scraped a living, and in the Philippines it was a hard living. They had no land but worked on sugar and coconut plantations.They had many children because the church discouraged birth control. The result was increasing poverty.

It was obvious that the Philippines would never take off unless there was substantial aid from the United States. George Shultz, the secretary of state, was sympathetic and wanted to help but made clear to me that the United States would be better able to do something if ASEAN showed support by making its contribution. The United States was reluctant to go it alone and adopt the Philippines as its special problem. Shultz wanted ASEAN to play a more prominent role to make it easier for the president to get the necessary votes in Congress. I persuaded Shultz to get the aid project off the ground in 1988, before President Reagan’s second term of office ended. He did. There were two meetings for a Multilateral Assistance Initiative (Philippines Assistance Programme): The first in Tokyo in 1989 brought US$3.5 billion in pledges, and the second in Hong Kong in 1991, under the Bush administration, yielded US$14 billion in pledges. But instability in the Philippines did not abate. This made donors hesitant and delayed the implementation of projects.

Mrs. Aquino’s successor, Fidel Ramos, whom she had backed, was more practical and established greater stability. In November 1992, I visited him. In a speech to the 18th Philippine Business Conference, I said, “I do not believe democracy necessarily leads to development. I believe what a country needs to develop is discipline more than democracy.” In private, President Ramos said he agreed with me that British parliamentary-type constitutions worked better because the majority party in the legislature was also the government. Publicly, Ramos had to differ.

He knew well the difficulties of trying to govern with strict American-style separation of powers. The senate had already defeated Mrs. Aquino’s proposal to retain the American bases. The Philippines had a rambunctious press but it did not check corruption. Individual press reporters could be bought, as could many judges. Something had gone seriously wrong. Millions of Filipino men and women had to leave their country for jobs abroad beneath their level of education. Filipino professionals whom we recruited to work in Singapore are as good as our own. Indeed, their architects, artists, and musicians are more artistic and creative than ours. Hundreds of thousands of them have left for Hawaii and for the American mainland. It is a problem the solution to which has not been made easier by the workings of a Philippine version of the American constitution.

The difference lies in the culture of the Filipino people. It is a soft, forgiving culture. Only in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged his country for over 20 years, still be considered for a national burial. Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics. They supported the winning presidential and congressional candidates with their considerable resources and reappeared in the political and social limelight after the 1998 election that returned President Joseph Estrada. General Fabian Ver, Marcos’s commander-in-chief who had been in charge of security when Aquino was assassinated, had fled the Philippines together with Marcos in 1986. When he died in Bangkok, the Estrada government gave the general military honors at his burial. One Filipino newspaper, Today, wrote on 22 November 1998, “Ver, Marcos and the rest of the official family plunged the country into two decades of lies, torture, and plunder. Over the next decade, Marcos’s cronies and immediate family would tiptoe back into the country, one by one – always to the public’s revulsion and disgust, though they showed that there was nothing that hidden money and thick hides could not withstand.” Some Filipinos write and speak with passion. If they could get their elite to share their sentiments and act, what could they not have achieved?

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SAYANG! kindly share.