"More of these families are not investing in the Philippines," he said, referring to Filipino-Chinese as well as ethnic Chinese investors from abroad. "On the other hand, the bolder ones continue to go on with their projects."

The highly visible role of the Chinese in Philippine economic growth -- the Chinese-owned shopping malls and high-rises that are transforming Manila -- have made them obvious targets for extortion. Members of the Chinese business community agree that investment has been affected but say it is impossible to estimate the amounts involved.

Crime has become one of President Ramos's most urgent problems. As the Philippines begins to pull its economy together and normalize some of the workings of its Government, continuing street crime, violent bank robberies, carjackings and kidnappings have added an atmosphere of lawlessness.

"There is a sense that anyone can get away with anything," a local journalist said.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines recently issued a pastoral letter criticizing widespread criminality, the involvement of the police in major crimes and "the apparent incapacity of Government authorities to prevent them or punish the perpetrators."

In Mr. Dichaves's case, his children's kidnapper -- along with an accomplice who turned out to be a retired army colonel -- has not even faced an arraignment, even though he was caught in the act of recovering the ransom money, the recovery was videotaped by the police and his victims identified him in a lineup. Indeed, Mr. Dichaves said, Mr. Uyboco, who is still in custody, apologized to his wife and said he had treated the children well.

It is a measure of the pervasiveness of police and military involvement in the kidnappings that despite their seeming immunity within an often corrupt law enforcement system, a number of officers have been tried and convicted.

William Chua, an ethnic Chinese lawyer, summed up the public view with a joke. In New York, he said, the police respond to a kidnapping in seven minutes. In London they arrive in just three minutes. But in the Philippines they are the fastest of all: they are on the scene at the moment the crime is committed.