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Friday, November 1, 2024

PH-EU relations close to breaking down

I have always believed that the word ‘excellent’ means ‘in perfect condition,’ not wanting in anything essential, flawless. Something excellent is, I have always believed, something that cannot be improved upon. But Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella has another definition of that fine word.

Speaking of the reaction of the European Union (EU) to the latest of President Rodrigo Duterte’s succession of tirades against the 28-member, Brussels-based organization, Mr. Abella described the relations between the Philippines and the EU as “excellent.” He went on to say this: “Basically, (the media are) talking about relationships with Europe, (Philippine-EU) relationships are quite solid and economically based.”

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“Excellent”? “Quite solid?” How can the relations between this country and the EU possibly be excellent and solid in the light of Duterte’s tirades?

Upon his recent arrival from an official visit to Myanmar, Mr. Duterte lashed out at the EU, saying that that organization should cease to meddle in the internal affairs of the Philippines and should stop criticizing his war on illegal drugs. Prior to that he had called the EU “crazies” and “sons of bitches” and had declared that the Philippines did not need EU’s aid.

More recently, Mr. Duterte became further incensed when the European Parliament, EU’s policymaking body; passed a resolution seeking the release of jailed Senator Leila de Lima, describing the Senator as a “prisoner of conscience.”

Things were made worse when Mr. Duterte’s administration failed to upbraid a high official of the Department of Health for saying that, instead of criticizing Duterte, EU officials “should just do online child porn, (which) is what (they’re) good at, anyway.”

Naturally the EU, through resident ambassador Franz Jessen, has expressed displeasure over these statements and acts. The Duterte administration has shown absolutely no sign of backing down and, instead, has given indications of wanting to add more fuel to the fire.

Brussels has not been taking lightly the Duterte administration’s offensive actions. Ambassador Jessen and his bosses have been dropping broad hints about the possibility of suspending all assistance to the Philippines and excluding the Philippines from the coverage of the EU system of trade preferences – the EU component of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) – which allows approximately 6,200 items duty-free entry into the 28 nations composing the Union. And last week, in the wake of Mr. Duterte’s most recent diatribe, this country’s charge’ d’affaires in Brussels was asked by the EU to provide an explanation for it.

In the face of all these happenings, how can the Presidential Spokesman possibly describe the state of relations between the Philippines and the EU as “excellent” and “quite solid”? Mr. Abella probably shuts down his mind first before facing the Malacanang press corps and saying things like these.

No, relations between the Philippines and the EU are neither excellent nor quite solid. On the contrary, I strongly believe that those relations are close to breaking down. A proud and influential institution such as the EU will take only so much abuse. There is a limit, and in my view that limit is about to be reached.

There is one thing that I find excellent, though. That is the way that someone like Ernesto Abella can, without batting an eyelash, repeatedly make patently false statements such as “The relationship between the Philippines and the EU is excellent.”

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

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