In an East Asia generally experiencing political and economic progress from Seoul to Singapore, the Philippines stands out as a running sore that seems to have no cure.

The Asia Foundation, a non governmental organization seeking to stimulate development across the board, has reported that the southern Philippines "suffer from poor infrastructure, poverty, and violence that has claimed more than 120,000 lives in the last four decades" of civil strife, terror and insurgencies, and crime that goes unchecked.

A retired U.S. military officer with long experience in Asia has asserted that "the fundamental problem in the Philippines is that the Philippine government has not figured out how to help the people, to pick up the garbage, and to educate the children."

An American civilian official agreed, saying a "failure in governance" was the basic cause of misery in the archipelago. He pointed to "the feudal society in the Philippines" and contended "until that is changed, the problems will continue to be unresolved."

From all accounts, Philippine and foreign, corruption is pervasive. Renaud Meyer, a representative in Manila of the United Nations Development Program, was quoted in the Philippine press this year as saying corruption "is a primary obstacle in the effective delivery of public services and fulfillment of basic rights."

He predicted it will get worse. "These are challenging times for all of us in our fight against corruption, especially in the next two years," Meyer said. "We are in the midst of an international economic crisis, which is affecting both developed and developing economies. Second, 2010 is an election period."

As an indicator of the disorder, the government has banned guns throughout the country, beginning in February 2010, the election year. The Philippine press reported last week that at least 14 mayors were suspected of drug dealing.

The government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, confronted with repeated natural disasters, mostly typhoons, appears to have been hapless in preparing for them or in rescuing people and caring for them after the disaster.

The Philippines provides a haven for terrorists who infiltrate into the rest of Southeast Asia. They travel from the southern Philippines through island chains in the Sulu and Celebes Seas into Malaysia, Indonesia, and beyond.

In the Philippines itself, the terrorists of the Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiya, and Rajah Solaiman Movement, plus the communist New People's Army, operate with near impunity. The Rajah Sulaiman Movement is comprised of Christian converts to Islam, which allows many to pass undetected in the Philippines.

A contingent of U.S. special operations forces, usually numbering 600, has been assisting the Armed Forces of the Philippines for about seven years but with little visible success. "The AFP," said a longtime Philippine hand, "are glad to have other people do their fighting."

A U.S. State Department report four years ago asserted: "The major, and disturbing, trend in the Philippines has been the growing cooperation among the Islamist terrorist organizations operating in the country."

In a similar report last spring, the department said that, despite intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance support from U.S. forces, the 5,000-strong New People's Army "continued to disrupt public security and business operations with intermittent attacks" on communications and transportation.

Late last month, two American soldiers were killed in the southern Philippines by a roadside bomb believed to have been planted by militants linked to al-Qaida. The Associated Press said they were the first U.S. troops to die in an attack in the Philippines in seven years. The U.S. embassy said they were on a resupply mission for a school construction project on the island of Jolo.

An obvious and disturbing question: Were their deaths an omen of things to come?