WRITING to his friends in Rome in 47 BC to describe his quick triumph over King Pharnaces II of Pontus, Julius Caesar said, ‘Veni, Vidi, Vici’— ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ – three short sentences that is still today equated with quick (military) victories.
And we would not be surprised if these were the same short, quick message that US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin III, sent to US President Joe Biden, after Pres. Duterte approved the continuation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
The parallel between Caesar’s triumph and that of Austin’s did not escape us because Austin spent less than 24 hours in the country before he flew home with the new, long-term agreement on the VFA, proving once again that when it comes to the Philippines, America always gets its way.
And while local US stooges and minions here—from right inside Malacañang, the Armed Forces, the PNP, the academe, the communists, etc., etc.– must have been misty-eyed and very much proud over their “accomplishment,” true patriots are outrage that just like in the last 123 years of our unequal relationship with the United States, we have always been treated shabbily, without any respect.
Indeed, America loves now to mouth the line that they now treat us an “equal, sovereign, strategic partner”—in deference to Pres. Duterte—but then, to America, words and talks are always cheap.
Consider: If indeed, US Imperialism so highly values its relationship with the Philippines, then why was it the last stop of Austin’s three-country ASEAN tour that also covered Singapore and its erstwhile arch-enemy, Vietnam?
Should we not have come first as supposedly, in this part of Asia, we are the “primus inter pares” along with Japan among its allies and its “numero uno” ally in Southeast Asia? Being the first country to be visited by Austin should have given us much honor as it sends the message that America, indeed, considers as as its “true friend and ally.”
There, the American mindset as regards to Filipinos is revealed. We are always the last in its bucket list and they can always treat us like s**t because we are accustomed to it anyway.
And Pres. Duterte, by going back on his position of keeping the Americans on tenterhook over the fate of the VFA if only to punish them for their long record of arrogance in dealing with the Philippines, showed that he, too, has not left the bad legacy left behind by Emilio Aguinaldo and his fellow Ilustrados—of always taking American interests in mind before making any decision.
In defending the continuation of the VFA, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said Pres. Duterte agreed, bearing in mind the country’s “core interests.”
What they are, he did not explain. Let us pray such vagueness would not result to our country being involved in another calamitous war that America has long been preparing for: a war with China. And crucial to its preparation is the VFA, as everybody must know.
When that day comes that we have been again drawn into another war in Asia, particularly, between America and China , Pres. Duterte must bear the burden and the responsibility—even in the Great Beyond.