An unequal non-treaty

Renegotiating an unequal treaty is not a question of liking or disliking another country. It is a reaffirmation of one’s identity.

But do Filipinos want an identity other than to be stuck with the image of a former American colony without a will or a mind of its own?

I don’t think so.

Sen. Miriam Santiago (not one senator with whom I can always agree) is right to lead the move of renegotiating the Visiting Armed Forces agreement. Americans must not begrudge Filipinos for wanting a more equitable agreement. Indeed, we should insist on the review provided discussions are conducted on the different issues with civility and firmness.

It will not do to use unpatriotic media to discourage our lawmakers from renegotiating the agreement. That is their constitutional mandate. When the bad weather clears it would be right and good for the Senate to keep the debate going until it has corrected the infirmities of the agreement and presented anew to the US government.

At this point there should be no dilly-dallying. The death of the two Americans is a clear sign that once again the Philippines is being used as a battleground for America’s geopolitical interests in the region.

There must be other ways in which we can be allies without endangering lives and the welfare of the country. In this effort we can look at how the other countries in the region, which were not former colonies, have conducted relations with the United States.

We have to grow out of the mindset that we are helpless and without recourse except to allow America to use our country as its base of operations. It is a policy that also works against our relations with other countries in the region who see us as an American Trojan horse.

We should deal with all friendly countries in the region and America on our own terms for the benefit of the country.

Ambassador Kenney need not assure Filipinos that the death of the two American soldiers in Sulu would not break the resolve of Americans to help the Philippines in its time of need. I think that America needs the Philippines more than the Philippines does in its pursuit of hegemony in the region.

It may be good to be reminded that the last time we fought side by side with Americans against Japan with the promise of equal war benefits has been unfulfilled. It may change with the Obama administration but I have yet to see a report that this has finally been expedited.

Senate Resolution 1356 would be a good nudge to the US that as an independent country we have every right to renegotiate the VFA. But if the Americans should turn down the renegotiation, the Senate should pursue its threat to terminate it.

Renegotiating VFA is also an opportunity for ordinary Filipinos to revisit their colonial past as background on how US-Philippines relations were developed after independence. Official America might understand that past but not (some) Filipinos. They still think Americans were being merely benevolent when they colonized the Philippines.

We must grow out of that illusion. More Americans after Vietnam and Iraq now accept the folly of benevolent assimilation. We may be grateful to America or any other nation’s help but sovereignty and equal treatment is too high a price for that help.

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Meanwhile Asean has put up its own emergency relief fund for member countries. This the Philippines should support heartily to strengthen cooperation in the region to which it belongs. Donations should be sent to a Jakarta branch of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) through an account named the “Asean Cooperation Fund for Emergency Relief” (US dollar account 001-382019-210 with Swift code HSBCIDJA).

The Asean member countries are Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Laos and Vietnam.

Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand who were not affected by recent disasters are expected to send teams to the affected areas.

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A report from Reuters makes a list of the risks in investing in the Philippines. Surprisingly, the first on its list is the 2010 presidential elections. There is concern on who will succeed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The report notes “many candidates are already making populist policy promises.” It adds that the possibility of amending the Constitution is waning.

But looking at some of the key issues that investors are told to look out for in the Philippines, these would have been addressed by constitutional reform.

Among them is for platform oriented government which would have been better pursued in a shift to parliamentary government instead of presidential which is based on money and popularity.

Another is the problem of internal security. At least as far as the south is concerned constitutional reform for a federalist option might have been acceptable to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the negotiations but it was scuttled last year. There will be no peace in sight until “self-governance without secession in the Muslim region” issue is mutually resolved. The same goes for the peace negotiations with Communist Party that has been going on for decades.

Constitutional reform would also have improved concern for government effectiveness that it says has to cope with “legislative deadlock, risk of uprisings and coups”. These, the report says hamper government effectiveness and policymaking.

Corruption is deplored on all levels of government but the list was frank enough to say this will not change with the election of new officials. Elected officials can be expected to recoup the large sums of money they spent to win in expensive elections in a presidential system. This would have been mitigated by a shift to parliamentary government that again would have been made possible by constitutional reform.

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For those with heart ailments, here is good news from The New York Times. It says medical research and development are close to the next big thing in heart surgery: “a replacement valve that can be implanted through thin tubes known as catheters rather than by traditional open-heart surgery.”

This is especially helpful to elderly patients who would not be able to endure open heart surgery. The new valve is called Edwards SAPIEN XT.

The new valves make it possible to repair the heart without chest-opening surgery. It is still being worked on but the results are promising, doctors said.