I am not pro- or anti-US. I just can’t deny the fact that the American people have been good to Filipinos for so long and in countless ways—to this day. There’s no point at this time for anybody to rebuke America for its abuses during the US colonization of our country, which ended more than 50 years ago.
The current brouhaha over Philippine-US relations triggered by President Duterte’s “unfriendly” remarks and actuations, not to mention the expletives he threw at US President Barack Obama are a test of character for our longtime superpower ally. And in my judgment, the United States has passed the test so far, and with flying colors. It is admirable that outgoing US ambassador Philip Goldberg, when asked anew to say something about Mr. Duterte’s gay slur on his person, simply responded, “I am a diplomat. No comment.”
The United States is far from perfect. If not for its government’s rejection of God in some of its critical policies and statutes, I can still consider America to be a genuinely great nation. But the truth is, the United States is more of a friend to the Philippines than the Philippines is to the United States—that is, if we look more closely into the kind of longstanding relationship between the two nations.
By the way, with the direction the present administration seems to be taking on foreign relations, I am gravely concerned that the resources, time and effort that the Filipino people spent to win the case on our dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea, at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, might just all come to naught.
I am not pro- or anti-China. I just cannot close my eyes to the silly “assertion” of Chinese officials that the West Philippine Sea belongs to China.
Another serious concern is that, if our very own President doesn’t change his ways and mindset and learns to act as a head of state, and unless he puts a stop to the bloodshed in his war against illegal drugs, our government could end up losing the respect of other nations, and looked upon with utter contempt and condemnation.
Is the Philippines headed toward self-destruction under President Duterte?
RENI M. VALENZUELA, renimvalenzuela@yahoo.com