We commemorate April 9 as Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valor. We remember Filipino heroes on this day, even though they are in our minds more often that just one day.
Interestingly, something strange happened in this year’s celebration. Senator Imee Marcos, the sister of President Bongbong Marcos, released a statement entitled, Aanhin ang katapangan kung walang balang panlaban?.
Senator Marcos seems to be playing Devil’s Advocate here, but why highlight an inadequacy of our fighting force on the day every Filipino is reveling about the bravery of our soldiers?
Is she just filling the role of provocateur in order to keep the administration of her brother on their toes? Or is there an underlying treachery going on here? Her timing is making many pundits suspect that something more malevolent than just politics is involved with her statement.
To be accused as a traitor in this instance cannot be avoided given our troubles in the West Philippine Sea. Our sovereignty is clearly being threatened by an invader nation growing increasingly aggressive in that area of our national territory.
Parroting the narrative of the trespasser, even in the guise of being concerned for the welfare of our troops, will not be received well. For while it is inspiring to see patriots rise to the occasion, lamentably, we are also witnessing compatriots blatantly betraying our cause.
For instance, an article reporting on Chinese vessels removing the payao installed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for Filipino fishermen at Panatag Shoal included an interesting angle about a lawmaker questioning the government’s resolve to defend our territory, to wit:
“Meanwhile, former House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez gave President Marcos unsolicited advice on Wednesday, saying that it would be in the best interest of the Philippines to re-pivot its foreign policy direction toward aggressor China than keep a “delicate” US as an ally.”
The news piece mentions the lawmaker justifying his pivot proposal this way: “Let’s look at the long-term perspective. China enjoys continuity in terms of leadership, while the US doesn’t. By November, Americans will have to choose – will they vote for the senile and forgetful or the crazy deranged guy?”
The representative of the 1st District of Davao del Norte is then cited in the report with this grim warning: “The century of US global dominance is about to end, and yet we want to place our bets on them? We should think very hard on this.”
Many of us will understandably be alarmed and pissed off with these views coming from a duly elected official. In fact, Congressman Alvarez is getting pilloried now in social media. But ultimately, his fate is in the hands of law enforcement agencies and his colleagues in the House of Representatives.
Our troubles in the West Philippine Sea are well-documented. The entire world knows that armed Chinese ships are terrorizing our boats and fishers there. Rightfully, this matter is now front and center in our political discourse, with every shade of politics showing their true color.
One survey showed that 72 % of Filipinos are in favor of asserting territorial rights through expanded naval patrols. But just like Congressman Alvarez, some politicians and academics are insisting on reverting to the “appeasement policy” of the Duterte administration.
Obviously, we must keep the door to a diplomatic resolution always open. This is a clear command of the 1987 Constitution. But we also cannot deny the fact that Beijing’s insistence on “consultation and dialogue” is just a coded demand to concede our sovereignty.
China has always been upfront with their precondition for a bilateral agreement and that is, we must disregard the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and instead recognize their 10-dash line claim.
In other words, for Beijing, a diplomatic resolution means we surrender essentially the entire western side of our country. No Filipino in his right mind would ever accept this condition.
Clearly, no Filipino has a monopoly of nationalism or patriotism. We all have different ways of expressing love for our Lupang Hinirang. But the reality is, there are modern day Makapilis making their presence felt in the public sphere. They appear to be fighting for the motherland. But in truth, they are pushing a traitorous political agenda.
