Critics of Magdalo Party List Rep. Gary Alejano should not be too harsh on him. The man is not a lawyer but he nevertheless charged into the fray by filing an impeachment case against President Rodrigo Duterte. His missionary zeal, although described by opponents as delusional and frivolous, served a purpose in that kings and powerful presidents should still be held accountable for their actions.
Alejano’s act can be likened to that of Don Quixote, the main character in the story of The Man from La Mancha. Don Quixote on his steed Rocinante charged into a windmill under the delusion it was a dragon that must be slain.
Don Quixote gave rise to the phrase “quixotic” in our lexicon. One may have the missionary zeal but unless you’re fully equipped for the task at hand, you’re bound to fail. Don Quixote was hardly the picture of a knight in shining armor who, like his horse and his lance, had seen better days. He was a caricature of a man –frail and bordering on the delusional.
House justice committee chairman Rep. Reynaldo Umali described Alejano’s attempt to impeach President Duterte as “frivolous.” Still, Alejano’s effort should be seen in a better light that we must not be daunted nor intimidated by the tyranny of numbers. A super majority in numbers under the control of Duterte dismissed the impeachment case outright.
My empathy with Alejano, I suppose, lies in my sentiment for the underdog and a strong belief in “afflicting the comfortable, and comforting the afflicted.” For doing what he did with audacity, Alejano deserves the people’s praise. Indeed even kings and powerful men such as the country’s present president should still be answerable to the people. This was shown in the case of the presidents of South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan who were ousted by legal process for abuse of power.
Manila’s issue with Beijing in the territorial dispute in the South China Sea must be seen in the same context. The Philippines must not be daunted by the sheer number of China’s People’s Liberation Army and its vast military arsenal.
A comparison of China and the Philippines’ in the 2017 Global Firepower manual showed the lop-sided statistics in favor of our giant neighbor across the pond. Look at the stats:
China’s has a population of 1.373-billion people compared to the Philippines’ 1.3 million. China’s People’s Liberation Army has a frontline personnel of 2,335,000 compared to the Philippines’ 220,000.
In terms of air power, China has 2,995 aircraft, while PHL has only 149—most of which are second-hand, and with questionable airworthiness. China has 6,457 tanks, the Philippines only 45. China’s naval power boasts of 734 warships with the aircraft carrier Lioning as flagship. The Philippines, an archipelago of 7,107 islands, only has 139 vessels, most of which are hand-me-down decommissioned ships from the United States.
Looking at the statistics, President Duterte may be right after all in not antagonizing China. But he need not show he welcomes Chinese aggression like he’s willing to host an invasion.
Hopefully, newly confirmed Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano will be able to provide the moorings and course of the country’s foreign policy and advise the President that there are certain parameters on which he has to base his public pronouncements. For example, President Duterte wants to include Mongolia and Turkey in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Any student of geography would know the two countries are not in Southeast Asia and therefore do not qualify to be members of Asean. As it is, the 10-member group is unwieldy enough with Cambodia and Laos doing China’s bidding not to draft a Code of Conduct or an Asean communique in the settlement of the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. This has resulted in China raising the bar on its aggression in the region, including the installation of rocket launchers on Fiery Cross Reef, known as Kagitingan Reef to Filipinos.
China has also reclaimed land from the sea to build man-made islands to construct military bases with naval stations and an airstrip in other parts of the Spratlys. How far will Beijing push its sweeping claim in the South China Sea before the US Seventh Fleet interdict the Chinese by invoking the freedom of navigation?
Trillions of dollars in commercial freight including crude oil carried by cargo vessels pass through the vital South China Sea lanes. Any disruption caused by China’s military buildup in the region could block this passage and the transport of oil cargo to the region. This would set back the economies in the region, including that of the Philippines.