ABSTRACT
When the article containing this statement appeared in the cover story of Time magazine, it aroused much celebration among government officials and sections of the elite and middle classes in the Philippines, in a similar way to Time’s cover story on President Corazon Aquino and the restoration of democracy several years earlier. Outside recognition that the Philippines appeared to be following in the footsteps of its more celebrated neighbours along the path of economic development and widening prosperity also came from other sources, and contributed to a growing sense of confidence among the privileged sectors of Philippine society.1
