When your government corruption scandal gets so massive it requires a special business forum to calm panicking investors, you know you've achieved peak bureaucratic excellence. Finance Secretary Frederick Go and his fellow economic managers found themselves playing therapist to spooked executives on Friday, desperately trying to convince them that yes, the Philippines is still a good place to park your money despite all that pesky massive corruption.

The private forum essentially became a corporate group therapy session, with officials promising reforms while presumably crossing their fingers behind their backs. Nothing says 'business confidence' like needing an emergency meeting to assure people your government isn't completely compromised. The spectacle of watching economic managers perform damage control in real-time would be entertaining if it weren't so predictably depressing.