Today Scarborough, tomorrow Palawan

Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn was our guest speaker at the Manila Rotary Club last Thursday and during the open forum, he said there have been many instances when they had to fend off Chinese nationals who were illegally fishing and poaching endangered species like sea turtles (which is highly in demand in China). In the past, confrontation over Chinese incursion into Philippine waters was averted with nabbed Chinese poachers eventually allowed to post bail and leave the country, but the recent standoff in Scarborough Shoal (which the DFA has started referring to as the Baja de Masinloc on account of its proximity to Masinloc in Zambales) has refocused attention on the issue of our territorial sovereignty.

Mayor Hagedorn said that while they have been able to manage the incidents of poaching in Palawan so far, it would definitely be a different story altogether once the Chinese bring firepower into the picture. God forbid if it ever happens, the people of Puerto Princesa and Palawan would be ready to sacrifice their lives to protect their beloved island — a sentiment echoed by many Rotarians present at the meeting.

All of us Filipinos should be very concerned about the developments in Scarborough Shoal with the Chinese getting more and more belligerent, sending in patrol vessels “to show strength” and saying they “do not make concessions after China has shown patience and sincerity to avert the situation from deteriorating.” What’s even more painful to swallow is the imagery painted of the Philippines as helpless, waiting for Chinese assent to bring the dispute before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) despite the fact that Scarborough/Baja de Masinloc is part of our territory, and telling Filipino fishermen to stay away from Scarborough — in contrast to the Chinese who are encouraging their people to go fish, even sending military vessels as “protection.”

We may be a small nation with no significant firepower and little resources compared to a giant like China, and we may be divided at times on certain issues — but this is one instance when a show of solidarity and unity is in perfect order. We should support our government in its efforts to put a stop to all this poaching and stealing of our precious resources. We are a nation whose population continues to grow rapidly with over 101 million Filipinos — and we certainly can’t let go of biodiversity-rich areas like Scarborough Shoal (which is not even an island but just a reef with a few rocks around a lagoon) or Palawan for that matter.

Mayor Hagedorn has worked very hard and has done a great job in preserving the natural beauty of Palawan. Tourism in the province has become a P4-billion industry with the number of visitors expected to reach 800,000 especially with the proclamation of the Puerto Princesa Underground River as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Hagedorn is tireless in going around conducting dialogues to sustain and protect the pristine nature of Palawan. And since the mayor is also a vocal anti-mining proponent — he should go against this kind of “foreign mining” — that is, a country claiming everything as “mine.”

Levity aside, the standoff issue already involves our shores — and we should put a stop to China’s bully tactics because really, it can start with a small reef like Scarborough Shoal, and if we do nothing to protect it, it’s not unlikely that we will just wake up one day to find that we have become a territory of another country. Even the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the MILF generated such a lot of violent reaction because the land of Mindanao does not belong to just one group — it belongs to all Filipinos. This is the same thing with Scarborough Shoal.

Let it be clear: this is not a call to arms, but an exhortation for patriotism. This is one time when every Filipino should strongly support our government and do what we must to preserve our dignity and sovereignty as a nation — because this involves what is clearly and rightfully ours. While we all pray and hope for a peaceful resolution, we must all remain vigilant.

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The world has indeed turned completely around for former president Joseph “Erap” Estrada. His famous “weather-weather” line has now turned into some sort of “sunny weather” judging from his 75th birthday bash at the Le Pavilion in Pasay City. The celebration — which looked like a convention of sorts — was impressive to say the least, in the sense that everybody who was anybody in politics, business and society were all present, starting with President Noynoy Aquino who came in full force with all his sisters and stayed (with a short interruption) for the entire duration of the celebration/program. The top officials of government — Vice President Jojo Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Speaker Sonny Belmonte were all present. Erap became highly emotional at one point when he paid a special tribute to his best friend FPJ.

In one short decade — from the time of his ouster and incarceration to where he is today — Erap Estrada has become a political icon and kingmaker with his following still steadily strong — a force that can still make or break a president. The alliance between Vice President Binay and Joseph Estrada is now considered to be the major political party to contend with in 2013 and presumably on to the presidential elections in 2016.

But what is truly remarkable about Joseph Estrada is that even at his age, he still has that very strong charisma and charm — especially with the ladies.

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