Remittances from overseas workers make up a tenth of the Philippines' economy, and are important enough to have forced the pace of anti-money laundering reforms to avoid risking any interruption to the flow of money from overseas through the banking system.

BBC: A rickshaw pedals through flooded streets

Being forced to submit to a privacy-rending body scan or pat-down - unpleasant as it may be - is not likely to compare to the trauma that can flow from being forced to submit to showering or sharing a bunkroom with someone who finds you sexually attractive.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Introducing 'forced intimacy'

Despite an overhaul of the bankruptcy laws in 1998, it is still awesomely difficult to foreclose on debts: the definition of bankruptcy turns on net worth, as opposed to cash flow, and the process is slowed down by a two-track system that separates forced restructurings from forced liquidations.

ECONOMIST: Thailand's biggest problem is debt