THE spectre of terrorism had cast a dark shadow over the 7th Asean finance ministers meeting, which ended last weekend in Manila even as Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared it open with an optimistic cry of defiance.
Makati is back to normal. The Philippines is back to normal, she announced, to polite applause. How normal a situation it was to have to pass through metal detectors and be frisked at every hotel entrance could be debatable but perhaps, this is the new normalcy.