IN the Philippines, the reaction to any report or survey by an international organization that casts government policy and management outcomes in a bad light is so predictable that one might assume there are preprinted forms for the purpose.
In every instance, either the secretary of the subject department, the Official Malacañang Talking Person or both will issue a statement bewailing the unfair characterization of the Philippines as anything but first-rate; condemn the methodology or data used to arrive at that conclusion as outdated or otherwise inaccurate; accuse the organization providing the report of impropriety in the manner in which it is released to the public; and demand an official apology for making the Philippines look bad.
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