This is the fourth straight piece on politics and economics in this column. I never tire writing about this topic because it is a “hot” one these days. It is also the subject of a lot of speculations.

The common view is that the way the political drama develops will affect the economic situation. Also, the early resolution of the drama will improve our economic situation as indicated by investment inflows, production increases, employment upsurge, foreign exchange rate improvement, and so forth.

The political drama unfolds everyday. It seems that it will be part of our daily news for months to come. Meantime, the economic situation hinges on this drama plus the changes in the price of oil and the economic situation in large economies principally our trading partners like U.S.A., Japan and China.

So far, our economic planners have acknowledged the possibility of achieving this year's 5.3% economic growth target also known as Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

We wonder how this will be affected once this issue on impeachment gets hotter, especially if it takes months to resolve to the satisfaction of the public.

In our region, agricultural production seems to be unaffected at this time and could grow by about 6%. Thus, we may even exceed the national target.

This trend possibly explains why the move to impeach Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is virtually not a hot issue in Eastern Visayas . For most of us in this region, our lives can go on the way it has even if the political drama is acted out with fervor and emotions in Metro Manila.

This insulation from too much politics is probably the reason many of us like to live in this region.