Nov
29
2007
Within the last six weeks, there have been three serious events in Manila that cause concern for the Outsourcing community facilitating operations in The Philippines. While operating in Manila for two years, this is the first time that a series of dramatic events has occurred in such a short span of time.
On Friday, October 19th, there was an explosion at the Glorietta mall that killed eight people. The Australian Federal Police, who assisted with the investigation, concluded that there was “no evidence to suggest that the explosion had been caused or initiated by an improvised explosive device.” However, after being in Manila a few weeks ago, the general consensus amongst the people was that it was more than likely a deliberate terrorist attack.
On Tuesday, November 13th, I was having dinner on top of the Citi building in Makati when a blast went off at the Philippine House of Representatives. This explosion killed three people and wounded several others in the area. This was the first historical attack against the Philippine government building.
Today, November 29th, there was a resistance movement staged at the Peninsula hotel in Makati (across the street from the Shangri-La where I stay), which was comprised of former government officials and a small military force. The renegade group was demanding the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and calling for a popular uprising against the President. Philippine military forces surrounded the hotel. Approximately 400 hotel guests were evacuated during the siege. Warning shots had finally been fired and tear gas was used to thwart and disrupt the uprising. While this ended with no casualties, it seems far from peaceful.
We have been extremely pleased with our Manila Operations, but it does make you think twice about business continuity and general sourcing strategy. Now, I just need to prevent my wife, or heaven forbid, my mom from seeing this post. The travel would be the least of my worries. 
