US Ambassador Goldberg on US "Rotational Presence"

When newly-installed US Ambassador Philip Goldberg pre-sented his credentials to Pres. Benigno "PNoy" Aquino III, he started with a speech that was a bit comforting to many Filipinos; that under his watch, he won't be putting up any military bases in Philippine soil. Of course, if you read your American news, the United States of America is deep in trillions of dollars in debt so it could hardly afford the expense of setting up a new military base or refurbish their existing bases on Philippine soil.

In lieu of bases, Amb. Goldberg point out that there would be a "Rotational Presence" of US Military within Philippine sovereignty. In my book, we should always look at this move from a positive side, that for instance having the nuclear carrier USS George Washington with a complement of some 5,000 men and women is a huge tourism advantage, especially for typhoon-ravaged Visayas. The coming of this super carrier on the east coast of Samar afforded those US servicemen a first-hand look at the beauty of the Philippine beaches. Of course, today Samar or Leyte may look like a war zone, but after these provinces are properly rehabilitated they can rejoin our tourism industry, especially Samar for its eco-tourism.

In a way, the presence of the US 7th Fleet within our archipelago serves as a deterrent for any foreign intrusion. One nuclear carrier is literally a floating airbase with enough firepower that can obliterate 80 percent of the military of most nations here on earth. Having one very close to the Philippine Archipelago is certainly a comforting thought. After all, since World War II, America has always been a staunch ally of the Philippines.

But if we are having territorial troubles with the People's Republic of China, it is not a trouble between the Chinese people or the Filipino people. It is a trouble instigated by our incompetent Pres. PNoy Aquino who should have apologized for the Hong Kong hostage killing incident. In my book, we ordinary Filipinos should always promote peace and harmony with our Chinese neighbor, not because they are a giant economic power, but because we are neighbors. Doing so surely won't make our American allies jealous.

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A lot of my friends texted me to say that they concur with my article yesterday that Gawad Kalinga's Tony Meloto would have been the perfect choice to be the Rehabilitation Czar for typhoon ravaged Central Visayas. But unfortunately, PNoy went against the grain to choose a very political person in the name of former senator Panfilo Lacson.

Without verifying the magnitude of the damage of this ty-phoon, the newly-appointed Rehab Czar already made an an-nouncement that he would finish the job by the time PNoy exits from Malacañang in the year 2016. If Ping Lacson believes that he can boast his way into solving the problems brought by super typhoon Yolanda, we can expect him to fall flat on his face. But then, who is this Ping Lacson anyway? He is a politician and politicians make empty promises. This is why he is the wrong man for the job!

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I'd like to inform our readers that the remains of my uncle, Col. Manuel F. Segura have arrived in Cebu and is now at the St. Peter's Funeral Home. Yes, Tio Manning's passing has been mourned not only by the World War II Veterans, whose numbers are slowly diminishing, but also peace loving Cebuanos who recognize their efforts during the dark days of the Japanese occupation. These Cebuano guerrillas under Col. James Cushing made sure that the Japanese stay in Cebu was very uncomfortable…or deadly. One of my close friends, an American born in Zamboanga, is Mr. Louis Jurika, who emailed me a tribute for Tio Manning. Let me reprint his letter for you.

"Dear Bobit: Oh my, I am so sorry to hear the news about your uncle Manuel Segura's passing away three days ago. I thought he would outlive us all... mala hierba nunca muere, but he was just too good of a guy. He will be sorely missed. I have never forgotten the times sitting in his house in Cebu ("look for the red gate!") with all those university students around who lived there - what a great atmosphere.

Then he would pull out his artifacts - the WWII Japanese army rifle, and my favorite piece, the Jap army hand-held portable air raid warning siren with a wind-up crank handle that generated a ferociously loud klaxon wail that could be heard a mile away. There are a few museums here in the USA that would give and arm and a leg for that very unique piece of WWII.

His books are a valuable contribution to the WWII guerrilla history of Cebu - no one researched it more, but then he was an actual part of it and I enjoyed his personal recollections of Cebu guerrilla leader Jim Cushing.

Please send me the obituary if you can. And don't forget that I will see you in Cebu January 6th-9th. Best regards, Lou Jurika"

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