EDITORIAL - What if we had been a US state?

After Spain lost the Spanish-American War, she was forced to give up some of her prized possessions. One of them was the Philippines. The other two were Guam and Puerto Rico. The ceding of these territories did not come exactly free. For the Philippines, America had to pay Spain 20 million dollars. The money, of course, was purely meant to assuage wounded pride.

In the ensuing years, the Philippines succeeded in gaining independence from America, largely on the back of the famous quote "I'd rather have a Philippines run like hell by Filipinos than run like heaven by the Americans" which, as things turned out, was naturally better said than done. After a few more years of a country run like hell by Filipinos, not a few started to longingly cast moist eyes in the direction of the United States.

The Philippines' fellow Spanish orphans who also got adopted by the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam, did not pursue the same path to independence that we did. Puerto Rico, while not moving on to becoming a US state, has been accorded commonwealth status. It has non-voting representatives to the US Congress and citizens that come and go to the mainland as they please. Same with Guam, which enjoys the status of a US territory. In both places, the dollar is king.

The emphasis on the dollar is intentional, to underscore the millions of dollar-driven Filipinos who now make a living in the US either as citizens, emigrants, or just OFWs. These millions went to the US belatedly, as foreigners, after we preferred to be run like hell by Filipinos and kicked the opportunity to be American, the same opportunity many now desperately seek to have again. But like most opportunities, this one didn't come knocking again. So the visa hunt is on.

But becoming Americans, or regretting that we did not become so, is not really the point of this article. On the contrary, the point of this article is to underscore the fact that maybe we are still better off as we are and that, maybe, God does really work in mysterious ways. Maybe God did see far ahead enough to make sure that, given what He saw in the future, it would be in our best interests to be independent rather than an American state.

And what could God have seen in the future that made Him realize it would be in our best interest to stay as we are and not a US state? The answer is simple -- God already saw America's conflict with Islamic terrorists coming. He already saw how America will become the main target of jihadist attacks. Imagine, therefore, a Philippines that is a state of the United States, a state that is almost completely surrounded by Islamic countries.

Right now the Muslims in the south are trying to assert themselves in two ways, one through a negotiated peace, the other through separatist violence. Such a situation is already tough as it is. It could have been worse if we had been an American state. It would be great, though, if God can give us a hint of His plan. For the way things are going, it would seem that we merely prolonged the inevitable.