As tension escalates in the disputed Scarborough Shoal, many Filipinos are fearful that this might end in a bloody confrontation that would eventually force the country into an unnecessary and unwanted war with imperialist China.
It is alarming to read the threats posted by state-run papers in China, and enraging to imagine the repercussions that fiery opinion on China in Philippine dailies would have.
One might ask, what would China lose if it finally breaks ties with the Philippines?
I would say, nothing.
The Philippines, on the other hand, would lose plenty.
In 2011, bilateral trade between China and the Philippines grew 22 percent from 2010, reaching $32.254 billion, with the Philippines posting a trade surplus. Meaning, its the Philippines who benefited the most in the trade with China.
Despite their apparent losses in the trade with the Philippines, China plans to invest more in the country especially in the agriculture sector. However, the conflict in the Spratly Islands are beginning to spoil these benefits. Already the country's banana industry have expressed alarm over the return of shipments of Cavandish banana from its biggest buyer, you guessed it, China.
Now, even the travel industry is bracing itself for the impact of China's withdrawal of support to the industry. Chinese travel agencies have canceled on the Philippines. This means losing the fourth largest tourist group in the country, which in 2011 posted 243,137 tourist arrivals, and in the first quarter of this year, a 77 percent increase at 96,455.
Perhaps this is the reason why China is so arrogant with regards to its stand on the dispute. Because it knows that it has little to lose if they abandon the Philippines as a trading partner.
It is not helpful that media itself are pushing the two countries into war. In China, state-run China Daily mentioned in an editorial that if the Philippine government would continue with its antagonistic approach on the issue, then China might just consider settling the issue with the "use of arms."
In the Philippines, the media is either consciously or unconsciously fueling hatred against China. Even the bustling and active Filipino-Chinese community are involving themselves in mass protests against China, but then I won't be surprised as there are also a number of Filipino-Chinese who are sympathetic to Taiwan, China's archenemy. Add to that selfish groups led by Akbayan trying to incite more trouble with China, actually intimidating China into declaring war with the Philippines with their flag burning activity. Well, apparently Akbayan believes there is money to be had in this, or perhaps some form of publicity that they may be able to use in the next election for a seat or two in Congress.
What media and Akbayan refuses to understand is the answer to the question, who's the loser in this game?
It's not just the Philippines, it's the Filipino people. It's not just China, it's the Chinese people.
For this reason, a diplomatic solution to the problem must be found. Let us not be intimidated by what media portrays because that may just be far from the diplomatic policies of both countries.
Irresponsible media and groups like Akbayan, we definitely do not need.
Be done with them, what do we have to lose?
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Below is a case of media's irresponsible comment that would spark further conflict and misunderstanding between the two countries' people. On 1.35, the news anchor claims: "We all know that the Philippines is China's inherent territory and the Philippines belongs to Chinese sovereignty, this is an indisputable fact."
The comment sparked anger among many Filipinos and I could only imagine the sense of entitlement that this comment triggered among the Chinese, justifying their country's bullying.
For decades now, the Philippines have been in the middle of a civil war. One that may not be felt in the cities and towns, but is definitely felt in the countrysides where the war is being fought. The victims? Innocent farmers, fisherfolks, civilians who are just trying to make a living.
Here is a very informative video of the most recent incident involving the military and four poor farmers who were mistaken by the former as members of the Maoist New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Sad to say, in most parts of the country, the Philippine Military have set up camp in community settlements, in the guise of ensuring the protection of the civilians, but in reality, using the community as a shield, since they know that the Maoist New People's Army would not harm civilians, and at the same time intimidating the community into submission.
Another sad reality is that most of the time, the military is being used by politicians to protect their interests, particularly of vast plantations, the land of which was landgrabbed from lowly farmers or of mines, logging facilities, and others.
The incident in the video is just one of the many incidents involving innocent civilians. Here's the introduction by the film's producer:
For decades, government counterinsurgency programs in the Philippines, one after another, have caused grave human rights violations to innocent civilians especially in the countryside. The incumbent Aquino administration’s Internal Peace and Security Plan “Bayanihan” (Cooperation) or Oplan Bayanihan is no different.
Oplan Bayanihan is but a replica of its predecessor, Oplan Bantay Laya, a counterinsurgency program designed by the U.S. government to quell all forms of resistance, armed or unarmed, by any means necessary.
A friend, Kathy, came home from Alberta, Canada and in an hour we're meeting a bunch of grade school classmates (that would be 6pm Manila time, tonight).
The town went crazy yesterday as two military helicopters hovered in the skies. I thought there's some military operation in the hinterlands as it is a known fact that the mountain range that runs through our town is a hotbed for the Maoist New People's Army. After circling low a few times, it finally landed in our public plaza. Lo and behold, there she was, surrounded by locals who were curious of the helicopters' presence. Two of them at that.
They thought it must be the President (he got to visit us only once, or twice, after parts of our town was devastated by Typhoon Sendong). It was a grand homecoming indeed, which I'm sure she herself did not expect. Her family was surprised and so were her friends, including me, who never expected her to be home.
This morning, I was greeted by her. She was jogging and passed by our house and we were laughing at what happened yesterday. One lucky gal!
She has friends in the Philippine Air Force and so when she arrived at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport yesterday, she passed by the PAF to visit her friends. It so happened that several of the PAF's helicopters were flying to Dumaguete, so why not? As I said, she's one lucky gal!
Oh, yes, Kathy is one beauty queen as well. Used to be our town's muse.
Here are photos of her adventure, which I grabbed (without her permission) from her Facebook. Sorry, Kath, can't help the temptation of sharing your fun story.
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Oh, and here's a photo of our front lawn drenched in rain. Got this from my sister's phone.
There is no doubt that breastfeeding is one of the healthiest parenting practice. Breastfeeding not only promotes attachment and builds the bond between mother and child, it also ensures that the child gets the proper nutrition and develop proper immunity, as breastmilk contains nutrients needed by the child as well as substances that helps in the development of the child's immunity.
However, the healthyness of breastmilk is also dependent on how nutritious the mother's diet is and it is suitable only to a certain age. Certainly, 3 years old is already pretty too old for breastfeeding.
TIME's cover for its May 21, 2012 issue sparked a buzz in the net as netizens went on a frenzy either condoning or praising the magazine's cover.
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