American bullying

We all know that the Liberal Party is in bed with the Americans, and it has been in an uproar to support Senators Leahy and Durbin.

The Americans have stepped on the Philippines’ sovereignty yet again, something they got used to during the Aquino administration. If this happened sometime from 2010 to 2016, the Americans would have gotten an instant chorus of apology from President Aquino and his lapdogs led by Secretary Mar Roxas. But it is clearly a different time right now.

US Senators Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy, both Democrats, proposed an amendment to the 2020 state and foreign operations appropriations bill to deny entry to Philippine government officials who were involved in the detention of Sen. Leila de Lima. This was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and, if passed into law, this would effectively prohibit entry of said Philippine government officials — nothing but an arrogant display of power.

This move was slammed by Philippine government officials, from presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Senate President Tito Sotto, House Minority Leader Benny Abante and former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. The harshest words were uttered by Alvarez when he said, “Senator Durbin’s brazen move to interfere with the internal affairs of our independent and sovereign nation makes him appear a moron at least, stupid at best.” The former Speaker added, “He should be reminded that the Philippines is no longer an American colony. For him to think and act that way show his misguided messianic complex.”

Sen. Leahy confirmed the “misguided messianic complex.” In response to Panelo’s statement that Washington is interfering in the Philippines’ internal affairs, he said, “Every year, the United States provides large amounts of aid to the Philippines, and I have supported that aid. I assume President Duterte’s spokesman who defended the wrongful imprisonment of Sen. De Lima does not consider our aid to be ‘interfering’ in their sovereignty.”

In an effort to put things in proper context, and remind everyone that money is the main reason for their amendment, Sen. Leahy added, “Our aid is not a blank check, and when Philippine officials abuse the justice system for the purpose of political retribution, we have a responsibility to respond.” Someone please remind these old-timers that we don’t need their money. (Note: Sen. Leahy is 79 years old, while Sen. Durbin is 74.)

Of course, foreign aid is a good thing and we can’t ignore the fact that most of our overseas foreign workers, around four to five million, are in the US. This is not an excuse, however, to bullying. We understand that these senators included a similar provision for officials in Turkey, Egypt or Saudi Arabia who wrongfully detained Americans, but the case is different with De Lima because she is not American, and there is probable cause that she is a drug lord, not to mention proof beyond reasonable doubt of her immoral character — for admitting to having slept with her driver, a.k.a. bagman, while married.

The timing is also suspicious as news came out a week before President Duterte is scheduled for a state visit to Russia. Although not his first time, the visit on 1 October is meant to finish what was started in the last visit, which was unceremoniously interrupted by the Marawi siege, causing the President to head home earlier than scheduled.

We all know that the Liberal Party is in bed with the Americans, and it has been in an uproar to support Senators Leahy and Durbin. The yellow PR machine is known to have employed lobbyists in Washington DC to push its cause. Particularly, our Senators Risa Hontiveros and Kiko Pangilinan, from the Senate Minority, have issued statements in support of this obvious intervention in our state affairs. This would have carried weight if the House Minority joined them in their manifestation.

House Minority Leader Benny Abante said the US Senate Appropriations Committee’s actions were “a slap on the face of Philippine sovereignty,” for being a “blatant attempt to interfere in our legal processes and meddle in our affairs.” Abante further said, “If they believe that Sen. De Lima should be set free, then it is their right to express their opinion. But it is another thing altogether to bully another government’s judicial officers into acquiescing to their demands.” So, tell us, which minority is politicking, and which one is being truthful?

The Americans have a lot of problems in their own country. With an impending impeachment inquiry this week, Democrats should focus on having their President impeached, and on the upcoming elections where more than 10 Democrats are vying for a nomination. Don’t mind the Philippines. We are doing fine making amends with friends lost during the Aquino administration.