President Duterte must do what is right
Not very long ago, I saw on national television President Rodrigo Roa Duterte declare that on June 12, he would go to the islands in the West Philippine Sea and celebrate our Independence Day there. That declaration was a stroke of a genius and his planned island visit a firebrand of a truly great leader. I remember that during the campaign in the 2016 elections, he excited our sense of nationalism when he, as a presidential candidate yet, promised in vivid and picturesque though exaggerated lingo, that he would ride on a jet ski to the Scarborough Shoal to plant the Philippine flag and wage war against any foreigner, presumably the Chinese, found intruding into our land. His hyperbole then must have added to his unbelievable surge in the electoral contest.
In all candidness, I sprang from my chair and applauded President Duterte when he made that touching declaration. My sense of patriotism got a presidential boost such that in my lonesome, in front of the tv screen, I shouted “That is My President”. There had been no president in the past who asserted our territorial claims over the many islands in the South China Sea with a meaningful celebration of our independence day. Such a move of our nation’s leader is most important in the light of the ruling of the International Arbitration Court in our favor as against the unfounded claim of Communist China. In fact, I was trying to find a way to which particular island the president would visit because I intended to go there myself on my own limited resources.
Quite sadly, the president seemed to back track on his pronouncement. He had no word of honor. Whatever he said of his celebrating our Independence Day at the Scarborough Shoal had no meaning. Not only was he just playing with our national pride with worthless announcements, he demonstrated a lack of commitment to our international cause.
In a quick reversal of stand, President Duterte stated, few days ago, that he would not push thru with his plan to celebrate our freedom day in any of the West Philippine Sea islands. There is no more raising of the Philippine flag nor the singing of our Lupang Hinirang in these islands. Scratch that itinerary.
Frankly, I could not understand why a president, conceded to have among the highest ratings as possessed of international influence, would, on a certain day, make a declaration of national importance only to renege on it few days later. His flip-flopping on important issues tainted his respectability. Changing of decisions on matters of national significance, erodes our confidence in our president.
I searched the horizon for an answer. It came from an unlikely source. The Chinese government thanked President Duterte for taking back his announced visit. The thank you note must resulted as a result of a secret meeting. I observed it to be wrapped in diplomatic garb. In the released statement, the Chinese government hinted that it was not wrong for our president to do anything that would disrupt the harmony he forged between him and the Chinese leadership. Let us look at the Chinese play of words.
There is nothing wrong for the Philippines to plant our flag in any of the islands the International Arbitration Tribunal declared to be within our enclave, sing our national anthem and celebrate our independence day there. But there is something wrong for the Philippine president to desist from doing that upon the perceived say-so by the Chinese government. There is certainly nothing wrong for the arbitration tribunal to favor our side of the dispute over these islands, but there is everything wrong for the Chinese to build their military installations there. Mr. President, do what is right!
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