ABSTRACT
In the latter half of 1997, the actors in Southeast Asia’s economic drama were cast in unfamiliar roles. The Philippines, once tagged the ‘sick man’ of Asia, appeared to be weathering the financial crisis better than its formerly supercharged neighbors, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Not without a slight swagger to his voice, President Fidel Ramos attributed the reversal of fortune to the Philippines allegedly having ‘sounder economic fundamentals’ than the former Tigers.
