MANILA, 6 May — Trading on the Philippine market rose a bit last week but traders were still warn of increasing their exposure in the country because of the possibility of further eruptions of violence from the followers of deposed President Joseph Estrada. Fitzgerald Aclan, analyst at KGI Securities Inc., said the market will suffer from the development of political woes, which could hinder investors from participating in the market. “Because of these uncertainties, the market will be very volatile over the next few days... looking at the situation whether there is violence or none,” Aclan said. But last week, the market barometer managed to rise 22.1 points or 1.55 percent before closing at 1,442.46 points. Market turnover was healthy with a 17.63 percent increase to 1.99 billion pesos ($39.8 million). Actual trading suffered a fall, though, and registered a loss of 49 percent with the trading of 1.25 billion stocks.
Some analysts noted that the local political situation remains uncertain, mostly because some of the suspected destabilization plotters, like Senator Gregorio Honasan and former Police chief Panfilo Lacson, are still at large. The government is currently tracking down the two and several others including Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and Estrada children Jude and JV for allegedly inciting the crowd of pro-Estrada followers to riot in front of Malacanang Palace last Tuesday.