A cause for worry

"Are we going to be a province of China?"

It has been said that the lowly pan de sal we eat for breakfast is a barometer of the national economy. If this is so, then things are going from bad to worse. The pan de sal is shrinking to a point that I can finish one in just three bites. I now need to consume a minimum of three every morning.

But if you read the papers every day, you would note that the conglomerates and the banks are making oodles of money. So why is the pan de sal shrinking? Something is wrong somewhere.

* * *

Commenting on the death anniversary of President Corazon Aquino, President Duterte said that she only became popular because her husband was assassinated. I agree.

But if you ask a journalist like me whether the change from the Marcos dictatorship to Cory’s regime was good, I would say yes, in the sense that the country went back to a democratic form of government.

However, did the country improve with Ninoy Aquino’s communist friends becoming members of Congress as party-list representatives?

Did we do any better when President Cory tasked both Nene Pimentel and Butz Aquino to bring back from exile Nur Misuari, head of the Moro National Liberation Front?

I ask these questions when the memory of Cory is talked about.

Despite the fact that Juan Ponce Enrile, Fidel Ramos and Gregorio Honasan had already formed a ruling civilian-military junta, Enrile handed power to Cory. I asked him why he did that. He said he was not sure whether the people would accept the junta. Cory was then the face of the opposition and so it was logical that she be made president.

Of course we know now that it turned out to be a big mistake. Cory failed to live up to expectations.

Cory also contributed to our return to the Dark Ages. She mothballed the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant which would have provided back-up power to Luzon during the incumbency of her successor, Fidel Ramos.

We almost always recall the so-called people Power Revolution—some half-million people composed mostly of students, priests, nuns and others from civil society.

Actually, it was neither “people power” nor “revolution.” It was not the entire country that was there. It was not a drastic change in government.

“People Power Revolution” could really fall under the category of fake news. The Yellows and the pro-Cory media made a small event scented and sanctified. The Western media called Cory the “icon of democracy.” That’s another fake news item.

Cory was never even present during the three-day breakaway. She had been hiding in Cebu when it started, and then when she returned to Manila, she continued to hide. The nearest she got to the breakaway group was at the corner of Edsa and POEA building.

How then could she have been an icon of democracy when she was merely EDSA’s beneficiary?

* * *

I am not only alarmed. I am greatly worried.

I refer to the latest news that Chinese investors are eyeing Fuga Island at the tip of Cagayan province, Grande Island at the mouth of Subic Bay and Chiquita Island near Panatag Shoal that is now occupied by China.

Aside from the heavy influx of the Chinese into the Philippines, and even their illegal entry through what they call “escort service” by corrupt immigration personnel, and the takeover of entire condominium floors and the entry of so many POGO workers in gated villages.

Santa Banana, these three islands are all strategic!

Doesn’t the Duterte security team realize that this is not simply about investments?

With the occupation of Fuga Island, China would be able to control the strait south of Taiwan and the Eastern Philippine Sea. And with Grande Island under the Chinese, Subic Bay would also be easily under China’s control.

First, it was China’s occupation of reefs and shoals in the West Philippine Sea and our Exclusive Economic Zone.

Then we saw the entry of POGO workers.

Before long, we would really be a province of China!

At this point, I am reminded of the sly entry of Japanese halo-halo vendors. There was also a lot of construction activity. After the occupation, these vendors and construction workers turned out to be Kempe-tai and Japanese soldiers.

We should all be worried.

* * *

All the people talking about Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte succeeding her father, including the endorsement of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, boils down to the fact that indeed the presidency is a matter of destiny.

In my almost 70 years as a journalist, I have seen Messiahs rise and fall—only God can decide who would be president.

Look at President Duterte. He was unlikely to become president since his competitors had occupied national posts before.

But who is the occupant of Malacañang now?

Mayor Sara should not be talking about the presidency this early. Many things can still happen.

To those who are already lining up to be in the good graces of Sara, they should not push Sara this early in the hope that they would be in power when she is.

* * *

President Duterte should take the opportunity to debunk all criticism that Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio will not be chief justice under his administration.

Carpio has been a fierce critic of Duterte’s policy in the West Philippine Sea. In fact, he has been bypassed four times.

Carpio should be chief justice if seniority and tradition were to be followed. Most of all, he deserves it.

www.emiljurado.weebly.com