The year 2003 came like a whirlwind for the Philippines, with so many events happening one after the other. Many issues have come and gone – some have subsided for the meantime – but the nation showed resilience as people remained standing in spite of crises. Ironically, though, facing the global community in 2004 is a country that is bruised and drained from the economic and political roller coaster ride of the year past. And these are just the man-made mishaps; nature also found its way to rock not just the country, but the whole world.

The MBC Research Group has compiled the key issues and events that greatly affected the affairs of the country in 2003, further taking a deeper look into the five that had the most impact on society.

Undoubtedly, the onslaught of SARS was one of the biggest and most crucial health crises faced by the Philippines and the international community in 2003, not only because of the rate and speed of infection but also because of the mysterious nature of the disease – a factor which denied experts a chance of concocting a viable cure for the virus.

It was not as fatal as the Spanish flu of 1918 and has not become a pandemic like AIDS. But the way it caught the world off guard with its deadly strain causing unexpected damage left enough reason for paranoia and chaos in the international community. The phenomenal effect of worldwide media coverage, bringing the news in every country to every household aggravated the alarming reaction to SARS.

National economies were severely affected, specifically the aviation and tourism industry. The Philippines registered negative growth in tourist arrivals, down by 33% during the month of May compared to the same period in 2002. Overall tourist arrivals in the Philippines were down 4.4% for the first four months of 2003. Asia-Pacific air passenger traffic, including that of Philippine flag carriers also dropped 50% in volume in May because of the outbreak of SARS. Some indirect effects were also notable including the predicament of overseas Filipino workers who had a hard time going back to their foreign employers as countries became fearful of possible contamination.

Furthermore, it tainted the superiority and effectiveness of state-of-the-art technology in medicine and health, as was the case in Singapore. Despite being ranked as one of the best prepared to handle medical crises and outbreaks of diseases, it was one of the hardest hit countries registering a total of 32 deaths.

Considering that almost all-Asian economies were badly hit by the SARS outbreak, it is also quite important to see some gains brought to the Philippines, notwithstanding the damage it caused. The negative impact on tourist arrivals in the country became an avenue to boost domestic tourism. As news about the deadly virus continued to spread and as travel bans and advisories against international travel became a fad, people were forced to shift their attention to local tourist destinations. Some local tourist destinations and hotspots like Boracay, Cebu, and Palawan reported increased arrivals of local residents from all around the country. Personal consumption of medicines and health kits also increased.

More importantly, it highlighted the capacity of the Philippine government to act effectively and decisively in dire and pressure-intense situations despite the deficiency and lack in health and medical funds and facilities. Even if the Philippines handled the SARS outbreak swiftly, medical facilities used by hospitals fell short of the requirements set by the World Health Organization to effectively contain the virus. The SARS scare became an effective wake-up call and eye-opener to determine just how much reinforcement and upgrading the government health system would need if it is to cope with the changing demands of the new century to provide for immediate and competent health service.

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