Grace Poe and Taiwan

I knew Grace Poe-Llamazares had a good head on her shoulders, as well as a heart, when I first met her at a Bulong Pulungan media forum while she was still chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

But listening to her interviews with TV anchors on the day after the elections, I was even more impressed. Despite her stunning win, overtaking Sen. Loren Legarda in first place in the senatorial tally despite Legarda’s dominance in all preelection surveys, Grace sounded humble and sober, and, as she told her interviewers: “Grateful that I am just included among the winning 12.”

She may have been euphoric at her unexpected victory—she was in fact hosting a celebration with her family during one interview—but when asked to what, or whom, she owed her win, she took the time to frame her words carefully, and give a sober, level-headed reply.

Grace took time to thank those who helped her in the campaign: Team PNoy campaign manager Sen. Serge Osmeña and fellow candidate Sen. Chiz Escudero. She conceded that her TV ads, especially the latter one that featured her with her mother Susan Roces, were effective in introducing her to the populace and framing what people called her “narrative.”

But she reserved her highest praise for the legacy and memory of her late father. Apparently, she told the media, voters bought her line that she would continue the promise frustrated by his defeat when he ran for president, and then cut short by his early demise. And indeed, it seems that the people have given Grace the love and respect and admiration they reserved for “The King.”

What will she do with such an inheritance? What will she do to vindicate her father’s name? Grace told her interviewers that campaign strategists had told her to focus on her “legacy” message, even if she wanted to talk as well about her other concerns—and accomplishments. But her Senate term will give her more than enough time to prove herself—as herself—and show that the votes given her were not just born of nostalgia, or longstanding grief.

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Of course we sympathize with the family and friends of that Taiwanese fisherman who was killed in a faceoff near Batanes with a vessel jointly operated by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

And of course the Taiwanese have every right to protest their countryman’s death, and demand as well an apology from P-Noy, if not the Philippine government.

But that doesn’t mean the apology should be forthcoming. P-Noy was right to refuse to comment on the specifics of the case, saying he prefers to “proceed on a calm basis.” The Taiwanese have to be reminded that the confrontation took place after the PCG-BFAR ship fired warning shots at two boats spotted on the Balintang Channel (which is Philippine territory), and then fired directly when one of the boats tried to ram the Philippine vessel.

So, to put it mildly, the fisherman was not exactly an innocent party in the incident. Or at least he was part of the other party that was complicit in the conflict. According to official Coast Guard reports, their action was purely in “self-defense.” And we must all be grateful that the incident did not escalate into a broader, deadlier level.

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Contrast P-Noy’s rather unruffled demeanor, which the Taiwanese presidential spokesperson described as “flippant,” with Taiwan’s choleric reactions, ranging from President Ma Ying-jeou’s demand for a formal apology “within 72 hours,” to Taiwanese threats to freeze all applications for work permits of overseas Filipino workers, to an angry protest (replete with burning the Philippine flag) in front of the offices of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei.

I understand that silent diplomatic actions are being taken to prevent the imbroglio from boiling over into a major conflict. As I write this, Malacañang has reportedly said it would no longer comment on the incident pending completion of an investigation.

But let me just say that “receiving countries” should stop using the “OFW card” in the event of a disagreement with the Philippines. In this case, Taiwan authorities have brazenly threatened to stop the entry, if not deport outright, Filipino workers in their many factories. This, even if Taiwanese employers and officials keep on saying that they “value” the contributions made by Filipino workers, who are mostly trained and knowledgeable employees in their factories that churn out digital devices and computers.

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Our overseas workers are not beggars or welfare cases. They contribute to the wealth of the nations where they are based, even as they earn precious dollars to send home to their families.

Even domestic workers help their host countries. They free up the energies and time of their employers who would otherwise have to devote a big chunk of their work days to caring for their children and looking after the domestic front. Domestic workers are not charity cases. They are allies in the effort to give their host families a better quality of life, even if, in some cases, these same workers (most of them women) must leave their own children behind to be looked after by relatives and hired hands.

To Taiwan and other governments playing host to OFWs: Stop using them as pawns in bigger disputes with our government. The time may come that they will no longer need to search for employment outside our borders, and where will that leave all of you?