Make no mistake about it: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is unraveling.
In one of the few times that he made categorical declarations on matters that involve international diplomacy, PBBM made a fool of himself. If there is one thing clear about it, it’s that crucial issues that directly affect the nation are not clear to him.
Addressing China directly, he asserts boldly: “Stop claiming our territory!” Huh?
There are portions on that body of water the maps label as South China Sea that are disputed. It is being claimed not only by the Philippines and China but also neighboring countries. In case PBBM is not aware of it, the conflicting claims have not yet been resolved – and in all likelihood won’t be long after he steps down from office.
For him, the President of a sovereign yet Third World country to tell China, a world superpower to “stop” claiming “our territory” therefore betrays not just naivete and gullibility but ignorance. It was nothing but hot air that won’t accomplish anything except perhaps incite the Chinese to laughter.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will never, cannot do that. To do so would compromise China’s interest. It might not be a big deal to PBBM but he is asking something that could lead to President Xi’s downfall. In declaring that publicly, PBBM perhaps thought he would endear himself to Filipinos. A for effort but F in logic.
The second part of that statement is even more, ah, ridiculous. Return the Typhoon missiles? Seriously?
First, it is the policy of the United States neither to confirm or deny the existence of missiles on foreign territory. The deployment of these missiles in the Philippines has raised concerns from no less than Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yes, the same man who declared war on Ukraine for virtually the same reason: the threat the missiles pose. Even North Korean President Kim John Un has taken notice of that.
At the very least, PBBM’s mention of the missiles is a reminder for those two leaders of an unfinished business. Whether China does the unimaginable in dropping its claim in what former President Benigno Aquino III renamed as the West Philippine Sea is immaterial. For the two leaders who have the capability to go to war over them, those missiles should not remain on Philippine shores a minute longer.
Of course, it remains to be seen what President Donald Trump will do with those missiles. Whether he pulls them out or let them stay is not for PBBM to decide. That’s one consequence of his pivot back to the US to appease ex-President Joe Biden and, partly, to spite former President Rodrigo Duterte who blazed a new trail of non-alignment. You don’t tell the Americans what to do, not even with missiles on Philippine soil.
So there you have it. A public declaration by PBBM that is both unnecessary and uncalled for. It opens the door to the state of mind of one who refuses to undergo a hair follicle drug test that would somehow allay the fears of 108 million Filipinos that the one at the helm is not what his critics picture him to be.
His defiance to that call and his seemingly incongruous pronouncements only make life more uncertain in a nation increasingly threatened not only by rising costs of basic commodities, a bureaucracy without accountability and a worsening peace and order.
The last thing the country needs at this juncture is insecurity from external forces. Unfortunately, PBBM does not seem to care. As he famously said, we are “doing good” and all these are “just noises”.
Right before our eyes, we are witnessing the unraveling of one who, for all we know, all this time actually existed in his own alternate universe.
#NoMor
