Beware of Manchurian candidates—Palace

Palace press officer and Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro, advised Filipinos not to be fooled by some Manchurian candidate, as part of her reaction to the recent pronouncement of Vice President Sara Duterte seemingly belittling the Philippine forces compared to China.

During her conversation with overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong on Monday, Vice President Duterte said Filipino forces are just 'pinky' or little finger compared to China, which she described as a fist or even a whole arm.

"You who said the Vice President humiliated, the Vice President Sara Duterte belittled the ability of the Filipinos. Even though we are a small country, if every Filipino is united, no one can defeat the courage and valor of a true Filipino," said Castro in a briefing on Tuesday in Malacañang Palace.

Castro stressed that a leader should neither retreat nor surrender.

“The President said, we have only one country; we must protect only one country. Opinions may differ on other matters, but love for the country should not be divided. So let’s remember, there may be many Manchurian candidates surrounding our country. Let’s be careful,” Castro said.

Philippine Coast Guard Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, also hit the Vice President for seemingly humiliating the country’s forces, especially those who have been defending the disputed waters.

“VP Sara said, ' We are just small, and China is fully armed, and its fist is enough to beat us. We must understand the size of our gun compared to China! Last October 15, Ambassador Jing Quan said: "If we want to use force, we may easily win." Now, our VP himself is repeating the message of the Chinese Embassy, including hand gestures,” Tarriela said in a Facebook post.

He even said that he already heard such defeatist statements in 2019, 2020, and 2021, or during the term of the Vice President’s father, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

“Six years of this defeatist mindset have passed. What have we gained? We have not recovered, and China’s structures have grown even larger within our EEZ. And it emboldened China! No one is saying we are going to war. Our fight is not as big as our arm, but rather UNCLOS, the 2016 Arbitral Award that we won, our allies with us, and the transparency that shows the world who is bullying. When a fist is the size of a fist that defines what is right, Jing Quan is right, and international law is no longer useful,” he said.

Further, she said it’s a shame to national heroes that government officials right now are seemingly retreating from the fight.

“Boniface did not measure the Spanish gun before he fought. The soldiers in Bataan and the guerrillas did not look at how strong the Japanese force was. They fought because something mattered more than the enemy's size: the freedom and honor of the Filipinos. Please don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that we go to war. We are just talking about it. But our applicant to be Commander-in-Chief in 2028, just talking, has surrendered, ma'am!” according to Tarriela.