Time for quiet diplomacy for RP and China

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There’s been so much talk about Malacañang’s purported request for US spy planes to fly over the South China Sea or as we call it the West Philippine Sea. Come now, it doesn’t matter to me whether Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino, III made the request or not. Knowing how the US 7th fleet operates, I’m sure that they have a military satellite focused in this part of the world in a geosynchronous orbit which makes the satellite stationary.

This is not to mention that the US has been doing numerous P3 Orion over flights near the Chinese coast. Few people remember that on April 2011, a US EP-2 Orion was involved in a collision with a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) F-8 fighter, which crashed, while the Orion made an emergency landing in Hainan Island and the American crew was detained for 11 days.

If the Americans are doing this already, why should Malacañang make that request? There’s no logic there. Granted American military intelligence would pass information to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), what good will it do when we can’t make a proper response to any situation in the disputed shoals?

In all honesty and truth, the Philippines really has very few military options to take. We are not prepared to take on China militarily. So it’s best to stop our saber rattling and work a quiet diplomacy, which sometimes works. But it should not stop the Philippines from preparing ourselves to be self-reliant militarily. This means we need more soldiers and it starts with the return of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in college.

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Just when Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Patrocinio Commendador expressed his opinion that the criminal liability for minors should be lowered to 9 years old, coincidentally another big news report came out about a 14-year-old boy who raped an 11-year-old girl in Barangay Opao in Mandaue City. I don’t know who are the parents of this boy, but certainly, they must have been so liberal with him that sex was already in his mind at such a young age. I still remember when we were that young and in high school, and the closest thing we had about the opposite sex were “crushes.”

There is no doubt that today’s modern day media is hugely responsible for having too much sex and violence in our TV screens or in our moviehouses. This is not to mention that when a kid gets to learn to use a computer, he also gets a hefty share of free sex in the Internet. This is why I fully agree with Director Commendador that perhaps Congress should now lower the criminal liability for minors for the simple reason that we are getting a lot of crimes happening not only in Cebu… but throughout the rest of the country perpetrated by minors.

Again, let me point out that the teen years are the formative years of our youth. This is where discipline is so important so that the minor would know what is right from wrong. Growing up, I experienced two years in grade school as a Cub Scout and, later in high school, the Preparatory Military Training (PMT). When we got into college, we had two years or four semesters of Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). These subjects taught us a lot about discipline and we came out alright. But somehow… our ugly politicians removed all these subjects and look at what is happening in our country today. Many of the youth are joining fraternities and warring against each other to the point of extreme violence and killings. I dare say that we should “clean the slate” and start all over again.

Still on the subject of minors… we already heard Mayor Michael Rama say that he would veto that anti-spanking ordinance. Perhaps Mayor Rama is too busy… but we are waiting for him to sign that veto. If the Cebu City Council would override that veto… then we will cross that bridge when we get there. But let’s get that veto signed already Mayor Mike. I have spoken to many people from all walks of life… and let me tell you that the anti-spanking ordinance is perhaps the most unpopular measure ever to come out of the Cebu City Council. At least many parents in Cebu still want to do their parental right to discipline their children, as they see fit. Now if the Cebu City Council would dare override the Mayor’s veto, you will see a huge rally from indignant parents marching the street in protest… and I’m sure that certain people in the Cebu City Council would lose their 2013 election bid.

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