Is Duterte’s joke becoming a reality?

I was dismayed after reading the editorial titled “I thought I was in China” (2/1/19). Dismayed because I suddenly remembered President Duterte’s statement at the anniversary of the Chinese Business Club on Feb. 19, 2018, where he supposedly joked (?): “If you want, just make us a province, like Fujian.”

I couldn’t help wondering if this sudden influx of illegal Chinese in the Philippines, with many of them taking jobs away from Filipinos, is now the beginning of a Chinese takeover of the Philippines as a “province of China.”

Mr. Duterte’s acquiescent and sheepish behavior toward Beijing, always catering to Xi Jinping’s whims, is exactly the opposite of the way he treats his own people — always bullying the weak and the helpless with guns, bullets, threats and invective. I feel sorry and afraid that, because of Mr. Duterte being a “yes-man” to China, my countrymen might also someday find themselves being ruled and harassed by the Chinese.

I hope that never ever happens because, except for Mr. Duterte and his underlings like Salvador Panelo et al., true Filipinos have their pride and would rather fight and shed their blood than easily give in to invaders.

JUANITO T. FUERTE, jtfuerte@comcast.net