Unless you read about it, one would not know that there is a rift in the Gulf region among Qatar on one hand and five other Arab countries on the other. But it seems the rift is not as wide as a gulf that it cannot be bridged.
Qataris, being the strong, resilient people they are, continue to go on with their daily lives. Qatar is an economically and politically stable country led by the Emir who’s attuned to the needs of the people. This is why the economic blockade and severance of diplomatic relations called by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt is a puzzle to the rest of the Gulf countries and the international community.
How Saudi Arabia which led the bloc against a fellow Arab state was able to muster the number has to be a concerted effort to malign and portray Qatar like an outcast in the Gulf region which it certainly is not. The Arab bloc accusation? A flimsy charge that Qatar is supporting international terrorism without providing the proof. Qatar cites the fact that the United Nations has not included this issue among its many global concerns.
Doha has called on Riyadh to talk and thresh out whatever problems there are between Qatar and its Arab neighbors Failing to get a positive response from the Saudis and their allies, the Emir called on Qataris to continue their steadfast stand and resistance against outside pressure to undermine Qatar’s sovereignty.
For this unwavering defense, Qatar has the sympathy and support of Iran, a powerhouse in the region.
Qatar is self-sufficient in food supply and fuel with the recent discovery of gas resources. Iran can supply Qatar with crude oil if the need arises.
Qatar Airways flights barred from entering the airspace of the six countries that cut off diplomatic ties with Doha have hardly felt the effect of the boycott. Qatar Airways continues to fly to other international destinations , including daily flights to and from Manila.
Blinders and blunders
Personally, I find it a vindication that the Manila Standard’s editorial last Monday validated my view that not even the President of the Republic can go around threatening to abolish duly constituted independent bodies like the Commission on Human Rights.
The Manila Standard editorial titled “Defend the Constitution “ reminded President Rodrigo Duterte of his oath of office when he assumed the presidency on June 30, 2016. To “defend the Constitution , execute its laws, and do justice to every man” is mandated in the Charter.
Why a lawyer and former public prosecutor like Rodrigo Roa Duterte failed to keep in mind these sacrosanct words in the Constitution is beyond our ken. It’s bizarre that the President even used as a platform his second State of the Nation Address in threatening to abolish the Commission on Human Rights, a duly constituted and independent body.
This effrontery was lost on the nodding heads of the legislators who attended the annual event at the Batasang Pambansa. Even the opposition interviewed after the Sona did not raise this shocking statement of the President. Have they gotten so inured to his outrageous public statements the lawmakers just ignore them? This is a dangerous state of mind lest this President assumes it has public acceptance and he has the power to do almost everything.
Whatever the President says in public has the veneer of official policy. Duterte’s instructions to military and police personnel facing human rights violations not to appear before the CHR and the Office of the Ombudsman without seeking his clearance is an arrogance of power.
The Duterte directive to AFP and PNP personnel drew a strong rebuke from Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales who retorted “it’s none of the President’s business and he cannot meddle in investigations being conducted by this Office.” It was the first and strongest response of the former associate justice of the Supreme Court who has been at the receiving end of Digong’s acerbic diatribes.
It is also a wonder to us how some of the President’s men and those who are aspiring to be appointed can continue to defend Duterte’s and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s abuse of power. One, already ensconced in a sinecure with a high salary took time out to criticize a Bureau of Customs official for her “boorish behavior” for calling Speaker Alvarez an “imbecile.” The “imbecile” tag on Alvarez was made by Mandy Therese Anderson, the chief of staff of Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon. She recoiled from the constant calls of the Speaker’s staff that she would get hell if she does not act favorably on Alvarez’s recommendation for the promotion of a certain Sandy Sacluti.
An imbecile, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is someone stupid with a low IQ. We won’t be surprised if Ms Anderson adds Deputy Speaker Rep. Miro Quimbo to her list of lowlifes for threatening to have her disbarred and render the BOC inutile with a zero budget. Slashing or totally withholding the budget of a government agency is the usual weapon of politicians against those who displease them.
But the BoC is already useless, if we are to believe Senator Richard Gordon during a Senate investigation who called bureau officials as either “incompetent or corrupt.” Gordon was reacting strongly to the feeble excuse of BOC officials who allowed P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment from China in and out of the Customs area. The huge smuggled shipment was fast-tracked through the so-called green lane which does not require rigorous inspection.
Yes, from China, supposedly a staunch friend of the Philippines which gives the country billions of funds in foreign aid. The smuggling incident runs counter to President Duterte’s zealous war on drugs which he said has destroyed so many young lives and the disintegration of families.