Is VP Binay the Manchurian Candidate?

By Rodel E. Rodis

Vice President Jejomar Binay and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua

It was made into two classic films, the first with Frank Sinatra in 1962 and the second with Denzel Washington in 2004. “The Manchurian Candidate”, the 1959 best-selling novel by Richard Condon, told the tale of a group of American soldiers captured during the Korean War who were taken to Manchuria, China where they were brainwashed by Chinese officials. After they were released by their captors, the soldiers were hailed as heroes in the US. One of them, Raymond Shaw, became the Manchurian candidate, the sleeper assassin at the beck and call of the Chinese Communists.

Does China have a Manchurian candidate in the 2016 Philippine presidential elections? This question is akin to asking: is the Pope Catholic?

With control over dozens of Philippine shoals and billions of barrels of oil underneath them at stake, China will most definitely want its chosen candidate to win the May 2016 Philippine presidential elections.

The smart money is betting in Chinese Yuan that Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay will be that candidate.
When the Aquino Government learned in April of 2014 that China was engaged in massive land reclamation activities in the Mabini Reef and filed protests in the United Nations, the new Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua paid a courtesy call on Binay at the Vice President’s Coconut Palace and then hosted an intimate dinner at his Forbes Park residence in Makati for the Binay family which included former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay, Sen. Nancy Binay, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr., Rep. Abigail Binay and Binay’s longtime associate, Employers Confederation of the Philippines president Edgardo G. Lacson.

Given his close personal friendship with Ambassador Zhao (seen in the photo in the Chinese Embassy website: http://ph.china-embassy.org/eng/), it was expected that Binay would downplay his support by China. So it came as a surprise when Binay announced in an interview in a Visayan radio station on April l2, 2015 that if he was elected president in 2016, he would back China’s call for “bilateral talks” to resolve the territorial dispute between the two countries and that he would engage in “joint ventures” with China.

WHY DID BINAY COME OUT NOW?

Why did Binay publicly announce his support for China’s position on “bilateral talks”? Why was he not deterred by the results of a nationwide poll conducted by Social Weather Station (SWS) from December 2013 through January 2014 which showed that “an overwhelming majority of Filipinos (93 percent) back the government’s efforts to defend the national territory” against China?

Was it motivated by concern that China may back another more credible candidate? Is this why none of the other Philippine senators – who may be “presidentiables” – have criticized China’s invasion of Philippine territories for fear of losing Chinese financial support?

But just in case the press did not learn of Binay’s public position on China, the Vice President’s media staff sent transcripts of his radio interview to all the Manila media on April 14. Under the caption heading “China has capital, we need money”, ABS-CBN News reported that “Vice President Jejomar Binay over the weekend said he has no problem with the Philippines holding joint ventures with the “moneyed” China in the disputed West Philippine Sea, in what could be a glimpse of his China policy in case he gets elected as president in 2016.”

Binay’s announcement came as a surprise because he is still a member of the Aquino cabinet as chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and Aquino’s adviser on overseas Filipino worker (OFW) affairs. If he wanted to publicly express his differences with the Aquino government on the dispute with China, the honorable move for Binay would have been for him to resign from the Aquino cabinet. [But no one has ever accused Binay of taking principled positions.]

As recently as November of 2014, when Pres. Aquino denied Binay’s request to use his influence to stop the Philippine Senate from conducting a probe of corruption in Makati under Binay, Pres. Aquino said that Binay was free to resign from his posts in the Aquino cabinet. But Binay declared then that he would not leave the Cabinet. “I have the highest respect for President Aquino and I will continue to be a team player,” he said.

BINAY AS A “TEAM PLAYER”

Binay has been openly skeptical of the Aquino administration’s filing of a claim against China in the United Nations International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Binay expressed the view there was no point in pursuing the UN venue because China will not abide by the decision of the tribunal anyway which is expected to be handed down in April of 2016. (”Sabi ng China, kahit ano pang maging desisyon do’n sa Tribunal, hindi nila susundin,” Binay said in the radio interview.)

Any chance that the Philippines could extract concessions from China to avoid the adverse decision of the UN was undermined by Binay’s pronouncement. All China has to do is wait a month after the expected adverse UN tribunal’s decision and the Philippine claim will be withdrawn by Pres. Binay, the Chinese will conclude.
Because China will not agree to any multilateral talks over the fate of the “disputed” shoals in the West Philippine Sea, the only alternative – in Binay’s view – is to engage in “bilateral talks” with China as China insists.

In a televised interview with ANC, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario responded to Binay’s comment by clarifying the Aquino government’s position: “We are for bilateral talks, but we ran into a dead end in terms of using that approach.”

“In the case of Scarborough Shoal, we had over 50 bilateral engagements with them and that did not work because … in every bilateral meeting you have with China, unfortunately, [leads to their saying] to you, ‘We have indisputable sovereignty over the entire South China Sea’,” Del Rosario said.

Is Pres. Binay willing to accept China’s position that it has “indisputable sovereignty” over the entire South China Sea?

Binay said in the radio interview that he plans to undertake “joint ventures” with China. DFA Sec. Del Rosario said while the Philippines is open to conducting joint oil explorations with China in the disputed waters, ”we should do this in accordance with the requirements of the constitution. In other words, it must be in accordance with the Philippine law. And China as of now does not appear to be in accordance with that. They feel that it should be their laws that should apply.”

“FAITHFULLY UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION”?

If Binay is elected president, the first words of his oath of office on July 1, 2016 would be that he would swear to “faithfully uphold the Constitution of the Philippines”. Article XII Section 2 of that Constitution states that “All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated. The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State.”
It is unconstitutional for Binay to give China any control over the Philippine shoals and the oil and natural gas underneath them. Any “joint venture” with China requires that the venture must be under the “full control and supervision” of the Philippines.

The Philippine Constitution also declares that “the State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.”

US Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Harry Harris, in a speech in Australia two weeks ago, said: “China is building artificial land by pumping sand on to live coral reefs – some of them submerged – and paving over them with concrete. China has now created over 4 sq km (1.5 sq miles) of artificial landmass,” he said.

Will Pres. Binay protect the coral reefs of the Philippines?

Article XVIII Sec. 25 of the 1987 Constitution declares that “foreign military bases, troops, or facilities shall not be allowed in the Philippines” unless approved by the Congress and ratified by the people in a referendum.
Surveillance photos taken by Philippine Air Force jets confirm that China is building military bases on at least seven of the Philippine shoals including one on Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef) which lies only 85 miles from Palawan.

Just exactly how does Pres. Binay plan to “faithfully uphold” the Philippine Constitution?

His detractors may never accuse Binay of honesty but they must concede he gave an honest answer in his Visayan radio interview – “China has capital, we need money” – but it was to the Jeopardy question “Why does Binay want China’s support?”

(The author’s latest book, The New Global Filipino Nationalism, is a collection of essays that have been published in the Inquirer.net for the past 5 years about the creeping Chinese invasion of the Philippines and the global Filipino response to it. To reserve a copy, please send your name and address to Rodel50@gmail.com.The price of the book will be determined by the number of copies published. The publisher wants to know the public response to the publication of the book.)

Mass retrenchments a callous move by Kapuso network

STATEMENT OF NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES

THE National Union of Journalists of the Philippines is deeply appalled by the callous way GMA-7 is retrenching hundreds of its regional employees in the guise of the network’s “strategic streamlining” geared toward “increasing ratings and revenues.”

While GMA-7 said it is not closing down any regional station, all the other offices other than in Cebu, Iloilo, Davao and Dagupan will be converted into satellite selling stations. This play on words belies the grim reality that almost all employees in regional news desks of the network will lose their jobs.

For a network that prides itself as “Kapuso,” the GMA-7 management heartlessly laid off hundreds of employees without sufficient warning.

In one swoop last Friday and Saturday, the management put in peril the future of the families of hundreds of its employees and talents many of whom have spent many years of their lives dedicated to the company and the public that they serve.

Let us make no mistake. GMA-7 is not on the brink of bankruptcy with no recourse but to let go of its employees to stay afloat.

GMA-7 is not in the red. It is not bleeding. It reported a net income of P1.01 billion in 2014 and at least a billion pesos yearly in 2012 and 2013. Based on a compensation filing made by the network, its top five executives received a total of P141.716 million last year. The hundreds of regional employees who will lose their jobs, unfortunately, do not enjoy the same.

Clearly, hundreds of jobs and lives have been put in the altar of sacrifice for more profits for its owners and investors at the expense of loyal and dedicated employees and talents.

We stand with our colleagues who lost their jobs. What happened to them can happen to any media worker in the country who despite our noble profession, many continue to be treated as dispensable pawns.

We call on our colleagues to close ranks and defend our rights and welfare and defend the dignity of journalists and the press.

The network’s management has denied that the retrenchments are connected to the acquisition of shares of Mr. Ramon Ang, top honcho of San Miguel Corp., who has acquired a 30-percent stake of GMA-7.

But is this really so?

We call on Mr. Ang to look closer on the situation. Mr. Ang has always prided himself as putting a premium on the welfare of his employees. More importantly, he has always been vocal about supporting a vibrant and democratic press.

Mr. Ang should give this partnership with GMA-7 a second hard look: would he really want to team up with a company that does not think twice of letting its people go for the sake of revenues alone?

Please direct inquiries to Rupert Francis Mangilit, Secretary General, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. nujphil@gmail.com.

China is wielding a big stick, Mr. Aquino is invoking boilerplates

by MARLEN V. RONQUILLO

IN the entire course of Mr. Aquino’s presidency, the arc of governance has not risen beyond prosecution, audit and tax collection. The outsized roles of four institutions – the DOJ, the COA, the BIR and the Ombudsman – are proof that Mr. Aquino’s main thrust is the prosecution side of governance. No other government in contemporary times has tried Mr. Aquino’s experiment, which is to make Ms. De Lima et al. the front, back and center of government.

In a peaceful world, with saber-rattling versus other countries almost non-existent, that experiment could hold. In the Old Order, under the bipolar word, we just took cues from the US and very little diplomatic brinkmanship was done. But right now that is not the case. External affairs is a now major preoccupation of countries big and small, First World or Third World. All corners of the globe, including us, are affected by an ascendant China.

Correction. China’s ascendancy is not just affecting us. It has been quietly annexing our share of the West Philippine Sea, building off Zambales with frenzy, driving off our fishermen from their natural fishing grounds and mocking our puny military status. In short, China is challenging – and mocking with abandon – our innate right to our territory.

And because the China problem is something that cannot be solved by Ms. De Lima’s prosecutorial zeal, Mr. Aquino has been talking about these two things:

Taking China’s territorial intrusions to the UN

Asking the Asean to unite against China’s aggression in the WPS

These are the boilerplate, de kahon response to China ‘s determination to establish possession of the West Philippine Sea and Mr. Aquino cannot invoke anything beyond the two. Why? Do you want to know the answer? Here it is.

In an environment wherein the zeal and the entire energy of government are vested on Ms. De Lima et al. – the prosecution side – the other major institutions of government suffer and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has been a natural casualty. The DFA, under Mr. Aquino, has been sapped of its analytical powers and intellectual rigor. We are right now clueless on how to deal with China’s flexing of might on the West Philippine Sea because we have no expertise on how to deal with that issue. For a country of over a hundred million people, there is not one think-tank analyzing geopolitical issues. Those who claim expertise are mostly poseurs and cranks.

This left Mr. Aquino with no fresh and profound ideas on how to deal with an ascendant China, a China predisposed to bamboozle neighbors, especially those with neither military nor economic clout. Such as the sad sack of a country that governs on empty sloganeering, principally the tortured phrase “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.” Surely, we cannot invoke sloganeering against China, which in 2030 is projected to have an economy the size of $22 trillion. And right now, the only country with a standing army of over 1 million.

What has Mr. Aquino made of the DFA?

An agency supporting the export of overseas manpower

An agency supporting the evacuation of our OFWs from troubled spots

An agency supporting our workers that figure in oil rig explosions

A once-glorious and intellectually-endowed agency that is now practically an adjunct of the Department of Labor and Employment.

An agency with a DFA secretary doing the job of a labor attaché

While the DFA does not need the likes of George F. Kennan, the intellectual, or the likes of Richard Holbrook, the tireless diplomatic troubleshooter, the foreign affairs department should be staffed with analysts and experts that can study global affairs in-depth and craft an appropriate Philippine position or response to most if not all vexing global issues.

Thinking and analyzing are inherent mandates of the DFA and eggheads and intellectuals and strategic thinkers should be allowed to flourish in that agency. But in the close to five years that Mr. Aquino has been president, he has allowed the DFA to be a sub-agency of the DOLE. And made his DFA secretary the point man in the evacuation of OFWs. There was no formal memo on this but Mr. Aquino literally posted this sign on the DFA entrance: “No thinking / analyzing allowed.”

Mr. Aquino is now reaping the brutal wages of trivializing the DFA and making it an adjunct of the labor department. The China question is now torturing him and all he could invoke are the usual boilerplate responses.

China is now in its 37th year of economic expansion and the more it accumulates wealth, the more it will increase its role in global affairs. The West Philippine Sea will remain a special point of interest given the importance of the area to the maritime world and the reported presence of rich oil and mineral deposits there.

From their embankments off Zambales, from time immemorial part and parcel of the Philippines, the Chinese military will continue to mock and challenge the integrity of our nationhood.

That problem, unfortunately, is outside of Ms. De Lima’s prosecutorial zeal, and the COA’s audit powers.

With nothing to unleash against China, Mr. Aquino is helpless and clueless. He must have rued the day he banished all critical thinking and analysis from the DFA. Correction. He must have rued the day he replaced critical thinking and analysis with empty sloganeering.

2016 guessing game continues

ON DISTANT SHORE

By Val G. Abelgas  

The latest survey on presidential candidate preferences has left the door open for more candidates to join the race and for political parties to review alliances with other groups.

Just a year earlier, it appeared that Vice President Jejomar Binay was a shoo-in to become the next president. But after a well-orchestrated and obviously successful demolition job, this is clearly no longer the case.

Binay has continued his slide in approval and trust ratings and has narrowed down his lead in the presidential surveys. The beleaguered vice president, who has made known his presidential plans since Day 1 of becoming the country’s second highest ranking leader, is just five points ahead of the increasingly popular Sen. Grace Poe.

In a survey conducted by the Social Weather Station from March 20 to 23, it was found that 58 percent of 1,200 respondents said they were satisfied with Binay’s performance while 28 percent were dissatisfied, for a net satisfaction score of 31. This was down 13 points from 44 in December and his fourth straight quarterly drop since March 2014’s 73 percent.

In the electoral survey conducted by the SWS also from March 20 to 23, Binay’s share of the poll went down by only one percent – from 37 in December 2014 to 36 in March, but the bigger concern for the Binay camp was that Poe had gained 10 percent – from 21 in December to 31 in March, cutting the Vice President’s lead from 16 points to 5 in just three months.

In June last year, Binay was well ahead of the pack with 41 percent and Poe had only 12 percent in distant second. Former President and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, who has since said he is seeking reelection as mayor, had 7% while Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, the presumptive standard bearer of the Liberal Party, was tied in fourth with Sen. Miriam Santiago and Sen. Chiz Escudero. Senators Bongbong Marcos and Alan Peter Cayetano both had 5%.

As Binay’s star continues to fade, other contenders, except Roxas, gained. Roxas went down from 19 percent in December to 17 in March in a tie for third with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who gained 10 points and overtook four others with 15 percent.

The mayor leapt past Santiago (11 percent in March, up from 10 percent in December), Estrada (up 11 percent from nine percent) and Escudero (eight percent in March, down from nine percent). Other presidential contenders in the survey were Marcos (seven percent from three percent) and Cayetano (four percent from three percent).

The United Nationalist Alliance is the only party with a certain candidate at this time in Binay.

President Aquino still has to endorse the candidate for LP and Malacanang says the announcement will be made in June, most probably after the next survey results. Although party stalwarts, led by Senate President Franklin Drilon, insist it would be Roxas, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda clarified that Aquino has not made any commitment to endorse Roxas.

Later, Drilon said that Roxas has made it clear to party mates that he was interested in running for president, obviously in reaction to Lacierda’s statement. Apparently, Aquino is not happy with Roxas’ consistent poor showing at the polls and may be ready to find a more winnable candidate if Roxas’ ratings do not improve substantially by June.

It is important for Aquino to make sure he will have a candidate who can beat Binay or any other opposition bet because, as he said, he wanted to be assured that his reform agenda would be continued by the next president, and, many suspect, to ensure protection from prosecution after he exits.

At this time, Poe is Aquino’s best alternative. The neophyte senator can effectively split Binay’s vote considering that the still popular Estrada has made it clear that he would have to support Poe if she decides to run because of his close friendship with Poe’s late father, actor Fernando Poe Jr., who many believe was cheated in the 2004 presidential election won by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Poe ran and won under the administration’s coalition senatorial slate in 2013, but has shown her independence from Aquino in several issues. Will she acquiesce to Aquino’s appeal for her to run as the Liberal Party’s candidate if Aquino does decide to drop Roxas?

Poe’ silence can only be deafening, although the suspense has actually added to her ascent in the polls. But she cannot afford to dilly-dally for long. The elections are just a year away, and political parties have to make decisions on their standard bearers and campaign contributors have to commit to certain candidates.

One can just imagine the wheeling and dealing going on behind the scenes at this time, especially as far as who the administration presidential and vice presidential candidates are concerned. Who will be the administration’s eventual presidential team? Will it be Roxas-Poe, Poe-Roxas, Lacson-Poe, Poe-Escudero, or Escudero-Poe?

It’s anybody’s guess at this time. I don’t think Roxas would be willing to slide down again to the vice presidency as he did in 2010 in favor of Aquino. It’s either the presidency or he’ll probably just run for senator.

As for Poe, a close supporter said it’s also the presidency or nothing for Poe, although I believe Poe can be persuaded to slide down to vice president because she’s still young and could still peak in 2022. It may depend on who the presidential bet would be, whether that person is tainted or not. She wouldn’t want to tarnish her clean image leading to the next presidential election.

Duterte can be the wild card in the coming election if he decides to run for president. The feisty mayor is gaining following because of his down-to-earth demeanor and his radical, if not outrageous, reform agenda.

Reliable sources are saying Marcos is definitely running, probably under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, if only to cleanse the name of his namesake father. Lacson wants another run at the presidency, and will try to get Aquino’s endorsement. Santiago has also made it clear she will also make a run for the presidency if her health would allow it.

Escudero, who is still on cloud 9 following his marriage to actress Heart Evangelista, has not shown much interest in running for president although many believe he is very much qualified for the job. Cayetano seems intent on running, and is almost certain to become the candidate of the Nacionalista Party if the old party stays away from the ruling coalition in 2016.

Except for Binay running under the opposition UNA, nothing is definite up to this time and everything else is pure speculation. Expect everything to firm up as soon as Aquino makes his own decision. And that’s not too far away.

(valabelgas@aol.com)

Foolhardy military steps to counter China bullying

AT GROUND LEVEL By Satur C. Ocampo (The Philippine Star)

It wasn’t just a foolhardy turn (as I wrote here last week) that the Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed with alacrity the Pentagon’s announced intention to deploy in the Philippines “various advanced air force, naval and maritime-domain equipment” — to be manned by US personnel — in response to China’s bullying in the West Philippine Sea.

In fact, the DFA stance typifies the ingrained mindset within President Aquino’s cabinet national security cluster, from which he gets advice on military and foreign affairs. Such mindset has been institutionalized as policy through the EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement), a 2014 US-Phl “executive agreement” that would effectively restore multiple US military bases across the country. (It’s good that patriotic groups are questioning the EDCA’s constitutionality before the Supreme Court.)

 Meantime there’s this report that a “70-acre facility” in the former Subic Naval Base is being upgraded, at the cost of $230 million, to accommodate US warships and fighter jets. (The SNB was the largest American overseas naval base until 1991, when the Senate voted against extending the 1945 RP-US Military Bases Agreement.)

But the Aquino government now welcomes not only US military presence in Philippine soil.

Early last month, in a joint press conference with visiting Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin made an astounding announcement:  the Philippines would establish basing arrangements for the American and Japanese militaries.  

 In the same breath Gazmin expanded his announcement, declaring that, under a plan to “roll back” China’s aggressive actions in the SCS/WPS, the Philippines would allow the US, Japan and “other allies” access to the country’s military bases.  On what legal basis, he didn’t say. 

Opinion ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

What’s clear is that all these propositions are in step with the US “pivot” or “rebalancing” policy: to move 60 percent of its military forces into Asia-Pacific by 2020.

Japan’s resurgence as a military power — ancillary to the US in Asia-Pacific — is being aggressively pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with US backing.  Abe seeks to amend the post-World War II American-crafted constitution that restricts the military’s role inside Japan, to give Japan the “right of collective self-defense” and allow it to come to the aid of an ally under attack.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told the Financial Times, in December 2012, that the Philippines would support the scrapping of that restrictive clause in the Japanese constitution.

During his first visit to Japan early this month, new US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter welcomed the progress attained in broadening the scope of the US-Japan Defense Cooperation Guidelines. He added that he would welcome Japanese air patrols in the South China Sea. (Japan already patrols the East China Sea where it’s been in a dispute with China over the Sensaku/Daioyu islands).  

On the US military equipment deployment plan, Secretary del Rosario said he hadn’t known about it, so he would fly to Washington soon “to find out more about what these plans involve.”

He should have read what the new Pentagon chief said in mid-April. Speaking at the Arizona State University McCain Institute, Carter declared Asia-Pacific as the “defining region in America’s future” where it could deploy the most advanced technology, including its newest air and naval assets.

Among these assets, Carter cited the following:

• Forward deployment of two additional Aegis-missile-defense-equipped ships;

• Deployment of the railgun, a new weapon that uses electromagnetic force rather than high explosives to fire rounds at much higher speed, lower cost, and with greater effectiveness;

• High-end air and sea weapons, such as a new long-range Stealth bomber and new long-range anti-ship cruise missiles; and

• New space electronic warfare and other advance capabilities including “some surprising ones.”

Which of these, if any, does the US plan to deploy in the Philippines?  All are definitely beyond the capabilities of the AFP to handle, which was why del Rosario acknowledged that such deployment “will require US [military] presence.”

For his part, AFP chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., told the media on Monday — after the start of the 31st Balikatan (joint Phl-US annual/semiannual military exercises) — that he was preparing a “wish list” of military equipment to be purchased from the US to modernize the AFP’s capability. Del Rosario would bring the shopping list to Washington.

Among what Catapang wishes to buy is the type of amphibious tank rolled out (21 in all) of the US Navy’s giant warship USS Green Bay last Tuesday in a mock landing-for-battle on the Zambales shoreline. “We want to have capability on wetland, marshland and beach landings,” he explained, hoping that the US military would train Filipino counterparts on how to operate the tanks.

The American deputy Balikatan director, Brig. Gen. Christopher Mahoney, described the exercise as a “territorial defense scenario,” wherein strained state-to-state relations with a fictitious neighboring country “Calabania” (China?) led to the latter’s aggressive military action and invasion of Luzon.  The amphibious tanks were fielded from the US ship to battle the “invading forces.”

But why would Catapang wish for such type of amphibious tank?  Should the deal entail the buying of a ship similar to the USS Green Bay? How much would the purchases cost?

It looks like the Balikatan exercises have become a marketing scheme for expensive US war materiel, and Catapang was hooked into buying. The US sales pitch: the Balikatan drills are aimed at “improving interoperability” between the two militaries, and the best way to achieve that, supposedly, is for the AFP to buy US war equipment.

* * *

Email: satur.ocampo@gmail.com

Peace council: last gasp of a lame-duck presidency

by YEN MAKABENTA

This could be President Aquino at his weirdest.

Throughout his five years in office, his excellency has adamantly refused to convene the National Security Council (NSC) and the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) – two councils that are part of our governing traditions and were created by legislation and executive order to help the president in decision-making and administration. Neither body has convened even once under Aquino’s watch.

But, from out of the blue, as if wakened by divine revelation, he announced on March 27 the creation of a new peace council, which he has tasked with persuading Congress and our people to support and hasten the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

In a flash, we have not just one, but an army of convenors.
Aquino does not like the councils that are engraved in decades of Filipino constitutional practice. He will only accept councils that he himself creates and begets as father of the nation.

No doubt encouraged by advisers who fancy themselves as strategic thinkers (like the now departed Ricky Carandang), Aquino sees the ad hoc council as a formula for addressing grave problems of national life.  It is a balm for wounds. It can be used as a shock absorber.

Councils to assist the president

It would be an unforgivable hyperbole to describe the NSC and the LEDAC as venerable institutions. But they exist by law and executive construction.

And they were explicitly designed to assist the Philippine president in decision-making and administration.

Until BS Aquino came along, every president of the republic found much value in their usefulness in the making of policy. They did not doubt whether council members possessed “the wisdom and integrity” that Aquino considers essential for anyone to sit in an advisory council to the president.

The National Security Council is the principal advisory body to assist in the proper coordination and integration of plans and policies affecting national security.

In the US, the national security council has a much broader charge of coordinating national security policy – encompassing foreign policy, intelligence collection and evaluation, and defense policy.

Our NSC  is a collegial body chaired by the President. It includes as members, the vice-president, members of the Cabinet (foreign affairs, defense, interior, justice and labor), top leaders of Congress, and all living past presidents of the Republic.

The Council was created during the Quirino Administration and was reorganized in 1986 by President Cory Aquino. President Gloria Arroyo amended the executive order on the NSC to include past presidents.

Ironically, this could be one key reason why Aquino has refused from the first to convene the council. He does not want to listen to the former presidents’ views and to acknowledge their greater grasp of statecraft.

The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) is the consultative and advisory body to the President on the government’s legislative agenda, particularly programs and policies affecting the economy. LEDAC was created through the Republic Act 7640 and approved by President Fidel V. Ramos on December 9, 1992.

LEDAC is composed of 20 members, from the Cabinet, Congress, and the private sector.

The council is supposed to meet at least once every quarter but may be convened by the president to special meetings if necessary. Aquino never found it necessary to convene LEDAC.

Aquino Peace Council has tough task

It is in the same spirit of tapping broad counsel and assistance that the President has created the peace council.

He said at its creation: “I am fully aware that the events in Mindanao, together with the incident in Mamasapano, have sown doubt in the minds of our countrymen. The result: it has pushed aside the objective evaluation of the BBL.”

“To address this, I am inviting citizen leaders known for their wisdom and integrity to stand as independent convenors.”

Appointed as members of the council were Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr, businessman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, former Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See and Malta Howard Dee, and founder of Teach Peace, Build Peace Movement Bai Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman.

To put the best face on this initiative, it is not unusual for a president president to look beyond the Cabinet for policy advice in addressing a thorny problem, especially a crisis.

In the Mamasapano tragedy, Aquino clearly faces the biggest crisis of his presidency.

In the deliberations over the BBL in Congress, this linchpin of the GRP-MILF peace agreement faces rough sailing. Sentiment against the measure is running high.

The task of the council is not propaganda or public relations; it is to come up with availing ideas to ensure that the nation will stay on the road to peace, and that the vision of Muslim Filipinos for a Bangsamoro entity will receive a fair hearing.

Kompre was a precursor

The peace council scheme is actually not the first time that the Aquino administration has gone to this well for water.

In April last year, the government created the Koalisyon ng Mamamayan para sa Reporma or Kompre, to counter the public outrage over scandals hounding the government because of the DAP and the pork barrel.

Karina David, one of the convenors, declared that the coalition was launched to ensure that positive gains under the administration are continued beyond 2016.

Kompre was envisioned as a broad-based coalition of civil society groups, people’s organizations, political parties, social movements and reform-minded individuals to champion the institutionalization and broadening of reforms in government.

The movement lost steam when media charged that the government had conscripted personages enjoying fat salaries and contracts in government corporations, and who were beholden to the President for favors.

Kompre went silent overnight.

The Peace council could meet with similar skepticism with the media and the public, because several of the designated convenors have had long ties with the Aquino government be it in business or politics.

What is troubling is the thought that President Aquino is collecting on debts and favors he has extended. And the so-called citizen leaders of wisdom and integrity may not be falling in line out of a sense of patriotism.

At the first meeting of the peace council in Makati last  April 6, Justice Davide declared: “The hard work begins after BBL is passed.”

He is mistaken. The hard work of the council has already begun.

yenmakabenta@yahoo.com

Big, sick dominant and ‘cute little submissive’

By Alejandro Del Rosario

The Chinese really know how to stick it to us. In a recent editorial in its mouthpiece tabloid, The Global Times, China belittled t=he joint US-PH Balikatan war exercises.

“After being the cute little submissive of the United States all these years, Manila has gained only a handful of second hand weapons and empty sense of security, let alone real enhancement of its army’s combat capability,” the Global Times wrote.

Somehow there’s a ring of truth to that if we compare our defense capability with that of two other US treaty allies, South Korea and Taiwan, who are equipped with state-of-the-art fighter jets and modern warships.

The Armed Forces spokesman called China “the big squatter” while the Palace talking head said the Chinese are “insecure.” But the allusion to the Philippines as a “cute little submissive of the United States” was lost on both officials.

The description appears to be taken from E.L. James’ erotic romance novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” referring to the principal characters of employee-intern Anastasia Steele and business tycoon Christian Grey.

But the reference to the US is misplaced. It is China, with its tortured past and history of having been brutally colonized by the Big Powers, which now wants to inflict pain not only against puny Philippines but also against other small countries in the region. In the James book, the young Christian Grey was abused by an older woman. Scarred emotionally, Grey turns out to be a sadomasochist to women he fancies including the not-so-innocent Anastasia Steele. Along this line, it can be said China is the “big, sick dominant” who derives perverse pleasure from imposing its will on weaker nations.

China’s latest provocation, driving away Filipino fishermen with water cannons just 100 miles off the Philippine coast, drew a sharp rebuke from the US but nothing else. Although the annual war games held under the PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement have become more frequent, it does not help when US and PH officials deny the war exercises  have anything to do with China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

The growing US concern over China’s land reclamation to build fortifications in disputed waters is mainly over the threat to freedom of navigation. More than half of the world’s commercial cargo including crude oil, coal and iron ore pass through the shipping lanes of the South China Sea. To have a Chinese garrison complete with a runway for warplanes and docks for ships smack in the middle of the South China Sea is like having a toll gate in what was once an unimpeded waterway.

In a statement this week, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte urged China to exercise restraint as he expressed concern for Filipino fishermen who have lost their livelihood to the Chinese who fish in the West Philippine Sea escorted by armed Chinese coast guard vessels.

The first presidential candidate to speak out on a major international issue, Duterte suggested that an incoming administration after the 2016 presidential polls should already be rethinking its policy and bilateral relations with its giant neighbor. Despite the alarm raised by the US and other countries over China’s military buildup in the South China Sea, President Benigno Aquino still refuses to convene the National Security Council which is nearly non-existent under his watch. If he has a National Security Adviser at all, it must be a closely guarded state secret.

Duterte also proposed a revival of the country’s Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) to prepare every able-bodied man to defend the country. Lest he is mistaken for a war freak, Duterte stressed he is for a credible self-defense capability even as he sought a diplomatic solution for Beijing to return to the negotiating table with Manila.

He bewailed that the young men of today cannot even handle a rifle because they are  preoccupied with cellphone texting, glued to Facebook and other modern electronic gadgets.  A mandatory part of the college curriculum, the ROTC was abolished in 2001 and made optional. It’s as good as defunct since hardly anyone opts for the course anymore.

FVR at PAFI forum on BBL

Former President Fidel V. Ramos will be the initial guest speaker at the upcoming round table discussions of the Philippine Ambassadors Foundation, Inc. First topic on the Foundation’s forum on current foreign relations issues is the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law .The roundtable discussion is co-sponsored with the Philippine Council on Foreign Relations and the University of Asia and the Pacific

The following ambassadors are the newly elected officers of PAFI: Lauro L. Baja, Jr., former DFA Undersecretary and Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations as chairman; and Jose Romero, former Philippine ambassador to Italy, president.

Elected to the board of governors were Ambassador Rosalinda Tirona, first vice president; Ambassador Jaime Bautista, 2nd vice president; Ambassador Jaime J. Yambao, secretary general and treasurer; Ambassador Eva Betita, auditor; Ambassador Alberto Encomienda, legal counsel; Ambassador Ike Begonia and Cristina Ortega public relations officers; and Ambassador Ralph Gonzales, governor.