WPS: Questions begging answers

At gut level, could it be that the whole snafu is a “food security” issue that, if China continues to have the upper hand over these fishing areas, might prejudice the plight of about 375,190 recorded fisherfolk from the 11 coastal provinces along the West Philippine Sea?

Truly, the so-called Sustainable Development Goals — “a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity” — will all be for naught.

Relative to Goal 12 under the SDGs that focuses on “responsible consumption and production,” what “scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production,” if any, has the government introduced to fisherfolk in fishing communities so they would not be mere consumers but producers as well? Has government logged annals, written accounts or a registry on biodiversity, coral reef protection, the marine life and ecosystem obtaining in the maritime waters we all boldly claim as our exclusive economic zone?

Were we to speak of a Philippine blue economy, how far have we gone toward a “sustainable, resilient and inclusive use, governance, management and conservation of the oceans, seas, marine and coastal resources and ecosystems for economic growth?” In all seriousness, aren’t we failing in the Scorecard as we entirely lack the agency, nay the wherewithal, to maximize the benefits that our oceans and seas are giving to us?

Speaking of sustainability in a rather oblique way, in the realm of Philippine-China relations, we may have to bring into this discussion the question raised by Jose Tabbada and Arturo Pacho in their journal article, viz., “Is the country’s debt to China sustainable”? It might be time to review whether the terms and conditions of the Chinese loans compared with those of other foreign sources make us better off or worse off.

It’s far from being foolish to stress here what historical precedents were established earlier, or more precisely, during the terms of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and again President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo except that in the latter, a “corruption scandal” led to the cancellation of a telecommunications project funded by China. The matter of territorial claims, in relative terms, is of recent memory, coming as it did only during the term of President Benigno Aquino III.

It might be unfortunate that during President Rodrigo Duterte’s term, China enjoyed most favored patron status in exchange for loans that would aggressively propel then Du30’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program at the expense of “The Hague ruling,” placing it aside or on the back burner.

As of 2019, some 16 out of 75 priority infrastructure projects under Du30’s BBB program worth P672.4 billion were funded with Chinese loans. These included, to name just a few, viz., the North-South Railway Project-South Line (long haul) – P175.3 billion; Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges – P97.3 billion; Luzon-Samar Link Bridge – P57.6 billion; and the Subic-Clark Railway Project – P57.2 billion.

Interestingly, Tabbada and Pacho realized that foreign loan sources other than China were more advantageous to the Philippines and yet China was favored by the Duterte administration. What explains this is the authors’ shared belief that “China is more tolerant towards corruption and ‘democratic deficits’ (e.g., authoritarian rule and violation of political and human rights) in the borrowing countries.”

Against this backdrop, however, the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ushered in a “paradigm shift” or totally shelved this “pivot to China” and instead has adopted a rabid pro-US sentiment or Western colonial mindset. The more the officialdom is at this “orgy,” the more confused, if not convoluted, our collective psyche becomes.

It would seem that defense cooperation with the US and its allies has become the way forward in this West Philippine Sea maritime tension as if it were a deterrent to alleged Chinese aggression, intimidation, or coercion.

Come to think of it, our claim of sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea is also China’s over the South China Sea – the latter probably with even greater nationalistic fervor.

Can the Philippines play utopia? Humor me.