APEC Summit 2015
The Philippines is pulling out all the stops to prepare for its weeklong global outing as it hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in mid-November.
For the first time in nearly two decades, it's the Southeast Asian nation's turn to host 20 other APEC leaders for the region's most high-level business event. From November 12 to 19, Manila will be the venue of an outbreak of meetings bringing together a who's who of global politics, business, and diplomacy.
WHAT IS APEC?
BUSINESS' VOICE. President Aquino meets with APEC Business Advisory Council leaders including Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee Food Corp., Doris Magsaysay Ho of Magsaysay Inc., and Guillermo Luz of the National Competitiveness Council. Photo by Gil Nartea/Malacanang Photo Bureau
It's not just a government affair. The private sector gets a say through the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), which recommends policies to leaders.
Now, allow me to tackle several issues relating to the APEC Summit 2015 using the different approaches known to Sociology. (These criticisms, of course, are only my personal opinions)
1. Structural Functionalism
There is indeed, a need for this APEC summit to discuss certain economic problems and various solutions to these problems. Therefore, let’s just think of these 21 other countries as “individuals” who produce necessary goods and services in various institutions and roles that correlate to the needs of our own country. Since the Philippines is still a growing country, it relies on its neighbouring country for support. As a matter of fact, 80% of the Philippine Trade comes from APEC. It’s like a big signboard which says that it’s undeniable that the Philippines has a lot more things to do in order to fulfil the needs of its people.
Okay, I understand that In order for social life to survive and develop in society there are a number of activities that need to be carried out to ensure that certain needs are fulfilled. But to take away the homes of roughly 20,000 Filipino people for the supposedly “aesthetic improvement of Manila”? Now that’s going a bit overboard don’t you think? How could society develop when the people which composes this “society” are ruined?
SWEPT AWAY? This photo taken November 9, 2015 shows a homeless man cooking under a tree at a park in Manila. The Philippines has swept 20,000 homeless from the streets, cancelled hundreds of flights and declared public holidays in Manila to ensure a safe and efficient summit of 21 world leaders next week, officials say. Photo by Jay Directo/AFP
2. Social Conflict
The Philippines, has recently created an image for itself as a “booming economy” but what about congested airports and roads? There has been many oppositions from critics and from the people themselves who are greatly affected by these endeavours as to how World Leaders are given the highest priority of travel access throughout Metro Manila.
Critics point out the irony of closing down the airport and roads, and calling off work for two (2) to four (4) days so the Philippines can showcase its turnaround from being “the sick man of Asia” to the continent's “rising star” under Aquino's watch.
Paynor admitted that hosting APEC even highlighted these challenges. “Why is it we have to cancel flights? Because we only have one runway, and if you increase the number of flights that have security considerations, you have to cancel flights.”
APEC TRADITION. World leaders get into position for a family photo at the Water Cube or National Aquatic Center before a welcome banquet in Beijing, China in 2014. Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
3. Symbolic Interaction
You can’t expect a society and its entirety to be like a still water, as if rampant issues would never affect them. In fact, you should compare them to a wildfire ready to consume you with its destructive force.
People interpret one another’s behavior and it is these interpretations that form the social bond. Similar to this predicament was the recently rising protest wherein many Metro Manila residents are taking a break but protesters won't be on vacation. Major demonstrations are planned against what detractors call “socially destructive policies like privatization, deregulation and contractualization.”
The causes run the gamut from Lumads' (indigenous peoples of Mindanao) human rights to the South China Sea dispute, and the military deal between Manila and Washington.
Others are critical of APEC's actual accomplishments, and perceive the group as an exclusive bloc of power brokers and CEOs.
ANTI-TPP. Filipino health workers protest in front of the US embassy in Manila on November 6, 2015. The group expressed their strong opposition to the TPP and the APEC summit as they believe that the US will push the TPP agenda in APEC. Photo by Jay Directo/AFP
4. Feminism
“Because I was a victim of hate, I’ve dedicated my life to turning hate into understanding, tolerance–and why not say it?–love.”–Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. Photo by Marcelo Hernandez
As insignificant as it may seem to most people (but not to women, of course), there are still issues lingering in our society regarding feminism and the recently held APEC Summit was no exception.
While people have become accustomed to the societal norm that men are more capable to rule, that men have more innate superior abilities to demonstrate than women, some extraordinary females out there have been waving their banners to prove those beliefs otherwise.
Filipino netizens, in the meantime, have been swooning over two “APEC hotties”—President Peña Nieto of Mexico and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada. But Nieto has been criticized for corruption, narcopolitics and violence in Mexico’s Guerrero state, while Trudeau has been attacked because of Canadian trash that has hit Philippine shores.
There have, of course, been other leaders worthy of our attention. Obama’s skills at moderation—and recent pronouncements on the West Philippine Sea which were certainly an APEC highlight. But Bachelet, one of two women leaders (along with President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea) visiting the Philippine capital during the APEC talks, was a breath of fresh air.
She visited Miriam College—the second oldest women’s college in the Philippines—for a “Dialogue with Women and Youth.” The National Women’s Summit, a welcome respite from the stiffness of APEC, gathered mostly female guests from the Senate and the House, national government, civil society, local governments, the Muslim community, and students to discuss the empowerment of women, especially in economic and political spheres.
5. Racial Discrimination
I don’t think we need to look outside of our borders in order to see racism because frankly, racism has started in our country itself. Racial discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status. From that very definition, wouldn’t the Philippine government be guilty if they were to be accused of those transgressions? How come people from another country, leader or not, are given with utmost priority by the Philippine government while its own people are left to suffer the consequences?
If I were to give them the luxury that they are given now, I would prioritize our own people first because personally, I think that racism is inevitable whether they “beautify” Metro Manila or not and it starts at the exact moment those 20 other economic leaders set foot on our country. After all, it is not new to us that Filipinos are widely termed as “lowly Filipinos”. As the saying goes, “If you want to look good, then you have to feel good a well”.
INCLUSIVE GROWTH? A scavenger walks in front of some of the hundred of new cars that will be used during the APEC summit. Photo by Jay Directo/AFP
References:
APEC. (2015, November 22). Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Retrieved from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation: http://apec2015.ph/apec-2015/
Creativecommons.org. (2015, November 24). Boundless.com. Retrieved from Boundless.com: https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/global-marketing-7/important-international-bodies-and-agreements-54/the-asia-pacific-economic-cooperation-apec-269-4076/
Macaraig, A. (2015, November 23). Rappler. Retrieved from Rappler: http://www.rappler.com/nation/11246-apec-2015-manila-explainer
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