The Manila Times

Headaches/challenges

JOHN LESACA

HOW difficult it must be for a Philippine president today. Winning the elections was easy by comparison, especially since the opponents used negative campaigning which ensured BBM’s win. Since he was sworn in, situations began to develop which prove daunting even to the most experienced politician: inflation, runaway prices of basic agricultural products (rice, onions, etc.), recirculated drugs by the very agency which was supposed to regulate them, penal mismanagement, forced food importation, rampant smuggling, a looming geopolitical conflict which threatens to escalate into armed conflict, a disunited Asean, especially with regard to Chinese relations, the forthcoming Barangay-SK elections and other forthcoming political exercises, crimes of violence. It can be quite overwhelming!

It must have hurt when the very person he gave his trust and confidence to, especially during the election campaign, a longtime co-worker, proved to be the first person he had to let go amid serious allegations and issues.

The pandemic, with its global financial and public health impact, only exacerbated the Philippine economy. Add the war staged by Russia against Ukraine.Today, even if Russia backs off or stops its onslaught, repercussions will continue to be felt everywhere, especially in the developing and Third World countries.

War or not, the oil-producing countries are shamelessly exploiting the fuel needs of the world. In these times where help and cooperation among countries are extremely vital, they instead chose to make financial gain at the expense of those who desperately need warmth in winter. In the Philippines, the Russo-Ukrainian war is made the scapegoat for fuel prices to engage in a continuing cycle of rising multi-fold and falling back only in increments, preserving their profit margins. In these desperate times where the world needs to recover from the virus, morality is thrown out the window, succumbing to the mutated adage of the golden rule — he who has the gold, rules.

I have talked to many of my babyboomer friends regarding the China Dilemma and they have one thing in agreement — enough is enough. We have reached the point where diplomatic protests (77 under BBM, 195 as of 2022, and 10 in 2023 as of this writing) against China’s incursions based on shaky claims relying heavily on a map that they themselves made, have been rendered useless and inutile.

My friends say enough is enough: China is now an aggressor. It has seized control of our territory through guile and deceit in pursuit of its expansionist desire to be the undisputed leader of the region. And because the Philippines has to establish military alliances with other countries, China uses this as the biggest reason to expand more.

This is the general feeling in the vernacular: “Nilalalake na tayo ng China, ginagawa pa tayong tanga (our manhood is being tested and we are made to look like fools).”

I take it to mean that they are already fed up and are willing to take up arms against this aggressor. But with what?

Many of our past governments set aside the “whole-of-nation” approach and instead focused on the pressing issues only — the economy, the financial depression, inflation, the insurgency, terrorism and whatever was the flavor of the month all over the world.

If we had emphasized the long term and strengthened our manufacturing industry, we would have been one of the big exporting countries. We would be building our own cars. We would be making our arms and tanks.

And so the reality today — we only have the proverbial sticks and stones against the Goliath that is China.

We don’t even have enough people because of the labor drain. But our biggest resource is brain power, which we are starting to lose too. All we have is the heart and spirit of the Filipino.

So, while the Chinese coast guard employs military-grade lasers against our fledgling salbabida-grade fleet, we seek to establish alliances with our neighbors, with much support from the United States of America.

This becomes fodder for the leftists, the communists and mostly oppositionists — why invite America again to our shores and allow them the use of our bases, encourage their abuses and let them milk our country dry?

Alliances with the US, Japan, Germany and New Zealand seems to be the only deterrent to a Chinese invasion of the Philippines, Taiwan and other Asean countries not allied with China.

My friends aver that now is the best time to test the Mutual Defense Treaty with America and the joint patrols with Japan, etc. They want the Philippine Navy to take the lead role in patrolling our territories since our coast guard is civilian in nature and therefore not prepared nor trained for military confrontation with the military mandated Chinese coast guard.

If the Chinese coast guard provokes our Navy, they know how best to confront the aggressors.

Let us pray…

Opinion

en-ph

2023-03-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://manilatimes.pressreader.com/article/281659669274312

The Manila Times