There is more controversy because the President made some statements which left his communication people scrambling to find words to clarify what the President really meant.
The Indonesian news agency Antara quoted Indonesian President Widodo as saying that President Duterte had given his green light to execute Mary Jane Veloso. The Palace immediately denied this and said that what President Duterte simply said to President Widodo was to follow Indonesian laws. To the Indonesian President, the meaning of these words were crystal clear: It was a green light.
To us however, it was not.
Maybe President Duterte should just have kept quiet and said nothing. He has to understand that the matter of the government trying to protect Filipino lives overseas, criminals or not, is emotional to all Filipinos. This issue of Veloso has the potential to turn into a political storm for the administration if not handled well.
Remember Flor Contemplacion? It was also the life of one Filipino that forced the Arroyo administration to withdraw Filipino troops from the Iraqi war. And even if the best efforts of the government was not enough to prevent the execution of a Filipino in China, at least the people knew that the government tried its best.
It is one thing to be unable to prevent the execution of a Filipino in another country. It is quite different if our government is perceived to be giving its go signal to execute one of its citizens instead of asking for clemency as universally done.
Although the President is unperturbed about the potential political trouble that the incident could bring his administration, his advisers are concerned enough because they are trying to defuse the situation before it gets out of hand.
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President Duterte also said that he is not a fan of the Americans and announced that the American Special Forces contingent stationed in Zamboanga must leave. Other statements followed: the purchase of fighter jets from South Korea was useless and that arms procurement should be diversified to include China and Russia because these two countries are offering generous terms.
He has now also rejected plans for joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea with the Americans. To top it all, the President also wants to pursue an independent foreign policy. These statements should keep the Palace busy for quite a while. That he is no fan of the Americans is clear enough with his statements and actuations. But hopefully, this will not be the overriding reason in his dealing with our principal ally. He can perhaps look at the overall picture and the whole gamut of our relationship with the US.
If the President wants to veer away from the Americans, it is perhaps instructive to remember that it is the Chinese who are already in possession of something that belongs to us. We do not know whether his statement about the withdrawal of the US Special Forces contingent was based on consultation with his security advisers. It appears that it was not because there seems to be an immediate retraction. The fighter jets from South Korea are certainly no much with what China has.
Still, it is important that the AFP acquire some jet planes in order that in the future, when we can afford more advanced planes, our Air Force will be ready. It takes time to get an Air Force to be jet capable. And how about Chinese arms to fight insurgency? There seems to be a disconnect in this because the President is already making peace with the CPP/NPA, MILF and MNLF. So there is not much need for these types of armaments. In the end however, it should really depend on what his security team will decide and whether they can convince the President of their views. Rejecting the joint patrols with the US navy is probably less contentious. The only downside is depriving our Navy of valuable experience.
Pursuing an independent foreign policy is the dream and wish of every leader and country. But in this day and age of interconnectivity, one wonders if this is at all possible in its purest meaning. This is because once we sign agreements or enter into alliances, this limits complete freedom of action by any country weak or powerful. It is a given that big and powerful countries always want to have their ways to be followed. The trick is how we can manage our policies in order to get what is best for our country. That is why for us, it is so important to have leaders with the wisdom, maturity and discernment to chart what is best for the country.
How about neutrality as some are advocating? There are lessons to be learned here. Belgium and the Netherlands, were neutral just before the Second World War but were the first ones to be invaded when Germany invaded France. For us, a quick look at the map will tell us that our country will not be spared in a conflict between China and the United States. Our country stands in the way to China’s desire to break out into the vast Pacific Ocean. The big question is, do we prefer the Chinese or the Americans? And what should we do? The best is to have a respectable defense establishment that is well trained, well organized and professional so that if we have to fight as a country, we can fight with honor and can be proud even we lose, much like the Greeks in the Second World War. They lost to the Germans but earned the respect of the vaunted German Army.
