The Various "Relationships", Duterte, and the Philippines
Posted on Sunday, 23 October 2016
THE VARIOUS “RELATIONSHIPS”, DUTERTE, AND
THE PHILIPPINES
By Apolinario Villalobos
There are various kinds of relationship.
One of these is based on simple friendship devoid of malice. Another is that
which, though, started with the simple friendship, has developed into one with
carnal desire for each other. There is also a relationship that started with
flings for sexual release by those who are innately maniacal in their desire,
but which could unfortunately affect others, just like what a woman, supposedly
of respectable repute did, and whose nymphomanic desire resulted to scandalous
and uncontrolled spread of illegal drugs.
As regards the relationship among nations,
given foremost consideration is their kind of ideology that could be founded on
the liberal Democracy or oppressive Communism. Another consideration is the
people’s Faith, which could either be rooted in Christianity or Islam.
The Philippines has a varicolored and rich
culture for having been tainted with those of other nations in the past that
made the blood of other races flow through the veins of the Filipinos. In view,
however, of the considerably long domination of Spain and America over the
Philippines, their respective influence has left a deep impression on the image
of the country, as viewed by the rest of the world. In this regard, a book on
the spoken international language of different nations, listed the Philippines
in the 1950’s as Spanish-speaking nation. When the Americans took over as
colonizers, the Iberian language was supplanted with English which even
attempted to dominate Tagalog, as it was forced on students while inside the
school campus.
In view of the considerable length of
domination by Spain, Catholicism was predominantly observed in the Philippines.
When the Americans took over, many were converted into the different Protestant
sects. As regards the government, the Philippines’s Constitution has been
almost totally copied from that of America, except the form of governance. With
that, America practically developed in the Philippines a seemingly total
dependence toward her. This is how the nauseating referral to the Filipinos as
“helpless little brown brothers” of the white Americans developed, with the
latter viewing the former as helpless people who needed to be prevailed upon,
reprimanded at all times, and if need be, disciplined with the rod…practically,
held by the hand for proper guidance.
Further to the aforementioned long
oppression of the Philippines, what has been culled in the mind of the
Filipinos is the consciousness that no other religion is better than
Catholicism, and no other government is better than what is copied from
America. Ironically, the Philippines is lagging behind some of her Southeast
Asian neighbors, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam ,
especially, on rice production despite the fact that their rice scientists and
technologists developed their knowledge at the International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) which is in the Philippines! These nations admirably and
successfully made leaps and bounds despite their having remained untainted by
their colonizers, Great Britain and France. It should be noted, too, that these
nations are not Christian, and one has even become a Communist!
Hecklers of Duterte call him “idiot”,
blabber-mouthed, tactless, and many more, just because he wants to free the
Philippines from the image of being shackled by America. His avowed advocacy to
give the Philippines a new image in the eyes of the world, one that shows her
standing on her two feet and free from the influence of any other nation has
made Duterte the subject of contempt from all sides. But the big question now
is: who among the past presidents has ever showed pro-Filipino or sincere
nationalism that he is manifesting? Filipinos thought that Marcos was the right
guy with his “New Society”, but he, unfortunately, got derailed when he became
a dictator.
The vision of Duterte’s detractors seemed
to be just limited to the American-owned Call Centers or BPO’s as they express
their apprehension of virtual “famine” in the country if these would eventually
pack up because of his anti-American pronouncements. On the contrary, how can
these American investors leave the country where they are reaping financial
returns beyond their expectation? Their relationship with the Filipinos who
work for them, and who show sincerity in their job can be viewed as one which
is symbiotic or an unwritten “give and take” system. What the detractors failed
to notice still, is that, although, many American firms have already left the
country in quest for cheaper labor in China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand,
their exodus did not affect the economy of the Philippines, or to the very
least…felt, as the Filipinos are known for their pliant flexibility and
endurance.
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