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The Philippine government downplayed Tuesday any possible impact of the Zamboanga standoff on the overall economy, saying the firefight was contained in the western portion in the south.
In the Mid-year Philippine Economic Briefing, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said businesses have been "as usual" in other parts of southern island of Mindanao.
He said the reason President Benigno S. Aquino III has been in Zamboanga City was to ensure that peace in Zamboanga City would immediately be achieved.
Armed members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Nur Misuari, who have been holding civilian hostages, have been engaged in a standoff with government troops in Zamboanga City for nine days already.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the MNLF group in Zamboanga was just a faction of the MNLF and "if there's any reason why it's taking long for the government to stabilize the situation there, it's really because we're protecting as much lives and limbs as possible as MNLF used them as human shields."
He expressed belief that the protracted standoff in Zamboanga would not cause any major economic dislocation.
Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said even in the tourism sector, the Zamboanga incident did not have any impact so far.
"There are no immediate implications for tourism," he said, adding that so far there were no reports of booking cancellations from foreign tourists who were planning to visit the Philippines.
The government is eyeing 6 percent to 7 percent economic growth for this year. The economy grew 7.6 percent during the first semester of 2013.
