By：Reynaldo O. Arcilla
SOON after President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte decided to extend the suspension of the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), United States National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien came calling bearing gifts.
(According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the new extension will end on Aug. 9, 2021, i.e., 69 days after June 1, 2021, which means 29 days of June plus 31 days of July plus 9 days of August 2021.)
At a ceremonial turnover at the Foreign Affairs department, Foreign Secretary Teodoro “Tweeterboy” Locsin Jr. received from O’Brien precision-guided missiles or smart bombs supposedly for use in anti-terrorism operations. The weapons were supposed to have been promised by President Donald Trump during a phone call with Digong last April.
I couldn’t help thinking that if the weapons had been delivered soon after the Marawi siege began in May 2020, it wouldn’t have lasted till October 2020, or five months later, at a cost of hundreds of human lives and near-total destruction of the city.
It will also be recalled that some US Democratic senators managed to thwart the delivery of sorely needed M16 rifles during the Marawi siege. Thanks to China and Russia for generously filling up our requirements to combat the Maute-led terrorism in the city.
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Right after the turnover of the anti-terrorism weapons system and expressing appreciation for the latest suspension of the VFA abrogation, O’Brien wasted no time requesting for a longer suspension of at least one year “to allow further negotiations on the agreement.”
Humirit pa!!!
It was a feeble attempt to fool us knowing fully well that another extension of one year would mean terminating the agreement by Aug. 9, 2022 when Digong would no longer be president! The nitwit should have just asked to have the abrogation canceled instead!
“We obviously would like to see [the extension] longer and that’s something I spoke with Secretary Locsin about…so that we can have some negotiations to address the important concerns of both sides…We hope that we can get [the agreement] extended a bit longer, but we had a very, very good discussion,” O’Brien said. (Hmm…I wonder what Amboy Locsin told him in reply.)
What the hell, the notice of abrogation was first served in March 2020, which has now been extended up to August 2021 or a total of 18 months! There is more than enough time to do that. Who is he trying to fool?
The fellow sounds like a “wazzock” to me. (A British slang used by United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he was mayor of London to describe Donald Trump when he decided to run for US president four years ago.)
As if to make it more palatable, O’Brien’s request was immediately followed by “sweeteners” with the announcement that the US government is extending more aid to the victims of Typhoons “Rolly” and “Ulysses,” the provision of an unmanned aerial system (drones) for the Philippine Navy, and the visit of the US Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett who discussed with our defense officials “opportunities for greater bilateral security ties.”
I wonder if the authorities concerned and Digong, of course, are reminded of the old adage “beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”
I am.
Incidentally, O’Brien confirmed what I have been saying all along…that there will be no change in the US attitude towards the Philippines whoever sits in the White House, i.e., maintain the status quo where they will continue to lord it over us.
Blinken as US Secretary of State
Apparent US President-elect Joe Biden has picked Antony Blinken as his secretary of State.
Blinken is a former deputy secretary of state during the second Obama administration who, according to CNN, was described by current Foreign Service officers as “professional, smart, steady, thoughtful and goes into everything so well-prepared.”
He also served as Vice President Biden’s national security adviser and then moved on to become an assistant to the president (Obama) and his principal deputy national security adviser.
Other quarters, however, consider that “interventionist” Blinken’s appointment “signals a return to full-on globalism and foreign meddling.” He has reportedly advocated for the Iraq war and the bombings of such countries as Libya and Yemen, isolating Russia, cozying up to China, and intervening in Syria, thus cementing a foreign policy built on military forays and multi-national motivations.
In my view, a Biden administration would not be much different from Obama’s which definitely had not been good for us.
All the more reason we should cut forthwith the umbilical cord that inextricably link us to the US’ apron strings by ditching the military alliance we have with it pronto!
In this regard, we only have to bear in mind what Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana recently said, which his Boss Digong, in essence, also expressed before.
“The Philippines would be dragged into the rising tension between the United States and China in the South China Sea if a shooting war would break out between them,” he said.
“The recent decision of the Chinese government to arm their coast guard vessels patrolling the South China Sea has upped the ante even more, and if a shooting war happens, the Philippines, which is right smack in the middle of the conflict, will be involved whether [the country] likes it or not,” he added.
Surely, we do not want to be caught in that kind of a situation. And we will, if we continue to host US troops and military bases on our soil.
So there…
Reminders
So long as the authorities concerned continue to ignore the items below, so long will they remain in this space.
1. Is the US coming back to Subic? — Two months ago, this newspaper reported that Maritime Industry Authority Administrator Robert Empedrad, former Philippine Navy chief, said a contract had already been finalized between Australian shipbuilder Austal and US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, and would reportedly soon take over the Subic Bay yard from Hanjin Shipping, a South Korean firm that went bankrupt in 2016.
Empedrad also reportedly said the US and Australia were eyeing the yard as a possible ship repair and maintenance facility (read, naval base). He added that US and Australian naval presence at Subic Bay could bolster national security.
That would directly run counter to what President Duterte said in his fifth State of the Nation Address in July:
“Kaya ‘yang maglagay lagay ka ng base at this time, this will ensure, if war breaks out because there would be atomic arsenal brought in, this will ensure the extinction of the Filipino race,” he said.
2. The notorious Smartmatic — In June last year, Digong directed the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to search for a replacement for poll technology provider Smartmatic.
Has Digong changed his mind? If not, shouldn’t he order the DICT to come up with its recommendation forthwith?
With the Comelec now virtually composed of his appointees, it should be a cinch to “convince” them to get rid of Smartmatic pronto.
3. Fugitive Andres Bautista — In November last year, Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd urged the National Bureau of Investigation to serve the arrest warrant issued by the Senate on former Comelec chairman Andres Bautista for contempt for ignoring the Senate hearings into his alleged ill-gotten wealth. It was his wife who blew the whistle on him.
Bautista was earlier impeached by the House of Representatives but resigned and left the country before standing trial in the Senate. It was later found out that he had fled to the US.
Shouldn’t the government seek his extradition from the US to face the charges against him? Isn’t flight a sign of guilt? Maybe his passport should be canceled to force his return?
Source : Manila Times 01-12-2020