By Herman Tiu Laurel

 

            The new year opens with fresh and new prospects of restoring the Philippines’ Independent Foreign Policy (IFP), and the removal of the US EDCA military bases in the country. Periods when the IFP was suspended and US-hegemony return full-force see Philippines’ disastrous 2023 economic consequences such as the de-industrialization of Cory Aquino now BBM’s massive privatization.

            The operation of the IFP was always rewarding for the country. It prevailed in the Philippines’ modern history during President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. and President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s, each time recorded the highest levels of economic development, real infrastructure expansion and economic growth and foreign relations diversification and alignment with the Global South.

U.S. blocks development, China promotes growth.

            Accelerated development achieved under the IFP is invariably reversed to become development debacles under the U.S.-sponsored regimes such as Corazon Aquino government and now under  Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. as infrastructure and economic development programs are shelved while the US capitalist-backed oligarchy take over physical assets of the nation for exploitation and looting.

            Duterte’s Strategic Cooperation with China established great infrastructures, from the P 4.372-million Chico River Dam Irrigation project to the Kaliwa Dam, and donations such as the three multi-billion Estrella-Pantaleon, Binondo-Intramuros and Davao-Bucana bridges, and more. Bongbong Marcos is cancelling more projects and can think up none for his “Build, Better, More” that has become nil.

Privatization, Liberalization, De-regulation.

            Bongbong Marcos is privatizing P 500-billion State assets, starting with NAIA which it sabotaged first. Marcos Jr.’s plot with the oligarchy is to shift low-cost China funded infrastructure project to the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) use people’s money and give said projects to crony oligarchy as “investors” in public-private partnership projects.

            The Philippine oligarchy is an extension of the Western financial oligarchy, the power center of the predatory “collective West,” that’s behind the U.S.’s “pivot to Asia” to maintain its control of the shift of wealth from the West to the East. Hence, the Philippine oligarchy, particularly the political oligarchy, is umbilically connected to the U.S. through the neoliberal economic policies and EDCA U.S. military bases.

Cha-cha to erase Art. XVII, Sec. 25 “anti-foreign military bases” provision.

            Representing the Philippine political oligarchy is the Congress of the Philippines which is now in the campaign to ensure perpetuity of the U.S. EDCA military bases in the country in initiating a “People Initiative” to remove the present Philippine Constitution’s Article XVII, Section 25 that states:

“… foreign military bases, troops, or facilities shall not be allowed in the Philippines except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate and, when the Congress so requires, ratified by a majority of the votes cast by the people in a national referendum held for that purpose, and recognized as a treaty by the other contracting State.”

The current campaign to amend the Constitution is waged under various cover of “reforms” to amend “restrictive economic protectionism”, “whether the Senate and House should vote as one or separately”, etc. Foreign control of the economy exemplified by the Metro Pacific (Salim) group over power, water, telecoms, are already in with present system and use of dummies.

The anti-foreign bases provision is the unspoken target of the powers promising P 200 per signature to the “People’s Initiative” petition, P 100 down and P 100 upon submission, for 12% of 65.75-M Filipino voters or P 1.6-billion “bribes” required. Before this happens, citizens should petition the current Supreme Court to overturn its illegal EDCA decision under the defunct Sereno Supreme Court

The proposed “voting as one of the Senate and Lower House” is intended to overwhelm the objectors in the numerically inferior Senate who would have the veto power if voting separately. Money talks in both Houses but there are recalcitrant in the Senate as shown by the 2015 Senate vote against the U.S. EDCA military bases.

Direct neo-colonial military control.

The U.S. military bases in the Philippines are not only aimed against China but also against the Filipino people. As evidenced by the recent manifestation of popular revolt against the prevailing predatory-finance capitalist system expressed by two manifestos against the economic exploitation of the current Bongbong Marcos regime with its crony politicians and economic oligarchs.

The U.S. military bases in the Philippines today are receiving deliveries of hundreds of armored vehicles, Humvees, tanks (and more to come) intended for land warfare and control, not the air-sea battles against China. Thousands of U.S. military personnel are being stationed in the Philippines to quell potential opposition to the U.S. resumption of neo-colonial control of the nation.

Freedom. Of Information Suppression

The neo-colonial control is also seen in the suppression of freedom of information and speech targeting for closure or suspension from FB and YouTube critical media networks, social media independent public intellectuals, journalists, bloggers, netizens. The entire mainstream corporate media maintains the US-Bongbong narrative while crackdown on contrary perspectives is being waged.

The suppression of SMNI in FB, YT and domestic air waves, detention of successful anti-terrorist thought-leaders Dr. Lorraine Badoy and Ka Eric Celis, the cancellation of Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute Inc. (ACPSSII) RP1 and GNN programs and FB shadow banning, the listing of independent bloggers in “traitor-tagging” by Tarriela form parts of the suppression campaign.

IFP advocates resurgent.

Politically the U.S.is preparing for the perpetuation of its replanted neo-colonial rule through the current political elite, thus attempts decapitation of Vice President Sara Duterte anticipating the return of the independent Filipino political leadership. The IFP advocates are resurgent after initially being caught off guard by BBM’s betrayal of the IFP of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and President Duterte.

            Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel are debating the current state of affairs dividing the officer corps between pro-Americans and pro-Filipino Independent Foreign Policy advocates, the PMA alumni members have signed petitions criticizing the BBM policies addressing issues in relation to this. The Dutertes representing the spirit of the IFP is resurgent.

ASEAN concerned of wayward Philippines under BBM.

            Indonesia on January 9, 2024 announced that it is “ready to work with countries to finalize South China Sea code” referring to the Code of Conduct document with China, contradicting the stated pessimism of Bongbong Marcos who is pushed by the US to propose a separate ‘code of conduct’ with Vietnam and Malaysia which has not found an ear to listen to.

            Thailand has repeatedly proclaimed its support of “China’s efforts to maintain maritime peace” over the South China Sea, while Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore just recently publicly opined in an oblique message to BBM that, “Are you sure you (Filipinos) want to get into a fight where you will be the battleground?”

            The Philippines under BBM is forgetting that its dalliance with U.S. hegemony, restoring the U.S. bases in the Philippines, military exercises and joint military patrols, are transgressions of the ZOPFAN (Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality) and Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapons Free Zone (SEANFZ) pacts. 2024 is a chance for the Philippines to the right path of ASEAN centrality and ASIAN solidarity.

Project Myoushu faces blank wall.

            Project Myoushu is a U.S. operation headed by ex-US Air Force Col. Raymond Powell to destabilize Philippine-China relations through “assertive transparency” a.k.a. propaganda, to exact “reputational cost” on (i.e. malign and slander) China, using the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy to challenge and bait China’s exercise of sovereign control (blocking etc.) of disputed areas of the SCS.

            Col. Powell presented the plan to the Albert del Rosario Institute-Stratbase in January and by February in went into operation with weekly incidents of attempted delivery of construction materials prohibited under a 24-year old agreement between the Philippines and China. The provocations climaxed with the use of civilian activist in the “Atin ‘to” project which fizzled quickly.

            On December 2023 in a phone talk Chinese Minister Wang Yi firmly advised Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo the problems are “rooted in… the Philippine side” for changing its policy stance, reneging on promises and the relations “now stand at a crossroad.” The Philippine side’s read out was terse but emphasized the importance of dialogue followed by thoughtful reticence.

            The good sign is that in the 2^nd iteration of the AFP-USINDOPACOM Military Cooperative Activity in the South China Sea, shadowed by China’s Navy ships, the exercise was shortened and two US ships (including carrier Carl Vinsons) aborted participation. This we see as signal US-Philippine amenability to Chinese concerns given US-China talks with Biden since the Biden-Xi talks in November 2023.

BRICS Rises.

            January 1, 2024 BRICS expanded to ten countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Iran, Ethiopia. Russia is the 2024 BRICS chair and President Putin has declared that at least 30 more countries are ready to join. BRICS now represents 37% of Global GDP compared to the G7’s 29.5% while representing 47% of World Population to the G7’s less than 10%.

            BRICS’ priority under Russian chairmanship is the process of de-dollarization of the world’s economy and financial system by promoting trade in local currencies and the preparation of a new international currency based on a basket of currencies and commodities. The world will start leaving the domination of the collective West in 2024.

            One of the key initiatives from the BRICS countries is South Africa’s filing of the genocide case  against Israel in the International Court of Justice, a process that will final expose the entirety of the  collective West’s hypocrisy in its advocacy of Human Rights, global justice and peace, and “rules based order..” It signals the end of the West’s moral standing in the global community.

Managing the Politics and Diplomacy in 2024.

            The present administration of BBM is weak and dissolute, it succumbs to enticements and pressure easily. It betrayed the principles of the Independent Foreign Policy instituted in the Philippine Constitution and sustained the unconstitutional violation of Art. XVIII, Sec. 25 prohibiting foreign troops and military facilities in the country, used fascistic methods to suppress liberty, for those reason.

            President Duterte’s forces were late in responding to the injustice forced upon them but now that it has started to retaliate the shaky BBM administration accepts talks to ease tensions. Maybe President Duterte can pound some sense into the situation. In 2024 the critical forces such as the PMA Alumni, citizen journalist, public intellectuals, political critics, must keep up the pressure.

Likewise, Chinese diplomatic “kid gloves” on Philippine shifted to a firm and stern caution that the Philippines’ change of its foreign policy and brought relations to a “crossroad” with its dalliance with foreign elements in joint provocative actions. Like China’s tough reciprocity with the U.S., Australia, the E.U. it has also caused Philippine diplomacy to take pause and reflect on its diplomatic course at present.

Asia’s prospect for growth and development is highest in the world, led by China’s 5.6 2023 growth rate, while the G-7 countries are floundering with recession and the U.S. on the brink in 2024 aggravated by its tumultuous presidential elections. The Philippines is well-advised to stay on course of its Strategic Cooperation with China as the entire ASEAN is doing.

Philippine Independence Foreign Policy actualization will see a revitalization in year 2024, while the Multipolar World led by the BRICS will dominate World politics as well as global financial and economic restructuring. The Philippines should not be left out of the historic, epochal shift from the West to the Rest – the new world of Forever Peace and Prosperity in the Community of Shared Future of Mankind. ###

   

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