It’s been awhile since I wrote something about the current administration. I have tried to limit making my political and social points of view public for the past months due to the toxicity of the last election. However, one can only hold in so much emotion before it erupts into something and, I guess, I have reached my limit.
I was never in favor of how the president handled things with China. What President Rodrigo Duterte has with China is not a friendly relationship but him simply serving as a puppet. I would have not addressed the issue if it only affected the president on a personal level but, since it is the Philippines and the Filipinos who are experiencing the results of his poor decisions regarding Chinese relations, I could not help but feel disappointed, dismayed, frustrated, and (most importantly) betrayed.
The current government claimed Scarborough Shoal was sold off to China by administrations before him but, right now, I feel the entire country and the Filipino people are being sold by Duterte to China for the sake of his so-called “friendship.”
The recent attack by a Chinese vessel on Filipino boat, the F/B Gem-Ver, must serve as a wake-up call!
Why was the president silent after the incident? Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo claimed he was waiting for the facts before making a statement. Since when did the president keep his mouth shut? He is known for his unstoppable mouth regardless of how rude he may sound, how senseless and shameless, or to who or what he is aiming for; yet he kept his silence and did not defend his OWN people from this unlawful act. Why?
When he finally made his statement, he dismissed the assault and said it was just a “little maritime accident.” Is he kidding? Nearly losing 22 lives cannot be called “little” unless he doesn’t really value life (which made me realize, considering extrajudicial killings, maybe he really does not).
Panelo and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also changed their positions.
At first, they condemned the actions but have since retracted what they said and (somehow) placed blame on the Filipino fishermen by saying there were doubts with their claims.
I have followed the timeline of events since the news broke and it really appalled me. I know the boat captain, Junel Insigne, also changed his previous statements and is now casting doubt on his own version of the story but that was only AFTER he attended a closed-door meeting between the fishermen and Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.
I firmly believe it was no ordinary meeting considering it was held in a house surrounded by cops. Why would there a need for cops for just a “little maritime accident” unless they were trying to hide something by persuading these helpless fishermen to agree to their revised version of the story? Did they use police to create fear among the fishermen so they were unable air-out what really happened?
Let’s not forget the fact that one of the Vietnamese rescuers verified the original claims of the Filipino fishermen. Even Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad said it was “not a normal accident.”
There was also satellite imagery to prove the Chinese vessel and other Filipino vessels were far from each other, hence, China’s first claim of being “besieged by seven or eight Filipino boats” after the incident was a total lie. Due to the exposure of the satellite images, China’s fabricated story was exposed and they re-issued another statement omitting that detail. What would have happened if there was no satellite image? China would have kept that lie going.
Doesn’t this indicate who is telling the truth and who is lying?
The sad fact is we are losing our voice. These fishermen could not speak the truth. We are also losing the democracy we fought for so long because our president chose to take a stand against his own people.
Will agreeing to a joint Philippine-China investigation provide truthful answers when they have already fabricated a false account before the investigation even began? I don’t think so.
Why do you forsake us like this, Mr. President?/WDJ