EDITORIAL - Fool's errand

Many Cebuanos heaved a huge sigh of relief that none of Cebu’s nine congressmen made a fool of himself by joining that “peace and sovereignty” mission to the disputed Spratly Islands conducted by some of their misguided colleagues in the House of Representatives.

That trip can be described in a variety of ways, none of which is flattering. It was a waste of time, money and effort. It was reckless and dangerous. It was pathetic and ridiculous. It achieved nothing. And it will never prove anything. It was, in other words, a fool’s errand.

The “peace and sovereignty” mission cannot be anything but otherwise. The trip by members of Congress carries a far different connotation than if they were soldiers. At least soldiers are a sight claimants to any contested territory have come to expect to see.

And for as long as opposing soldiers do not do anything spectacularly stupid, they can eyeball each other but that is that — as in North and South Korean sentries at Panmunjom. But when lawmakers step foot on disputed territory, that can be seen as taking outright possession.

Luckily, beyond issuing pointed remarks, none of the other claimants decided it was worth their while to dignify the Philippine folly. They probably decided correctly that the “incursion” was nothing more than the posturings of a few publicity hungry solons embarked on an ego trip.

Certainly, the congressmen who flirted with disaster do not think their trip can inspire some piece of legislation worthy of respect and recognition by the other claimants. Our fear is that the other claimants might spit on our new laws. And then what?

On the other hand, the island-hopping congressmen may choose to authorize bigger military spending for Spratly-related purposes. Fine. But just how big can the budget be (money that could be used more meaningfully somewhere else) before we can be at par with even the weakest claimant?

The truth of the matter is, there is nothing the Congress can do at this point in time that would help strengthen the Philippine position on the Spratlys. Our best option at this point is to stop spoiling for a fight we cannot win and instead take diplomacy as far as it can go.