EDITORIAL – Both the US and the Philippines missed the bus

The United States has come under fire for failing to send a representative to last Sunday's unity rally in France that saw more than 40 countries represented by either their heads of state or their top officials. The unity rally was a near spontaneous demonstration of anger over the terrorist attacks in Paris that saw 17 people killed by Muslim fanatics.

The rally was near-spontaneous because while some of the world leaders came on the invitation of the French president, the others, as well as the nearly four million people of different nationalities who gathered, had come unbidden. And while the spark was clearly the attack on Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine and the freedom of expression it represented, the demonstration eventually evolved into an outburst of indignation against the senselessness of all terror attacks.

The presence of more than 40 world leaders, some of them themselves Muslim, gave the gathering the significance it needed. It was a shot at terror that was heard around the world. Unfortunately for the United States, its absence was made even more obvious and conspicuous. And for a country that is very quick to summon a coalition of nations to help it fight its wars, its absence made its global position and foreign policies shaky, if not outright untenable.

The United States belatedly acknowledged the omission, calling it a big mistake for which it has already apologized. But the damage has been done and it remains doubtful if any amount of apologizing can erase the fact of America's absence. If President Obama could not be there, he could have sent the vice president. If Joe Biden could not make it, there was the secretary of state. If even that was not possible, there was the US ambassador. Sadly none of the above was there.

To a lesser extent, it was also conspicuous that the Philippines was not represented. This is not to say that President Aquino should have been there. But as a country in an area that is predominantly Muslim, a country that has its own Muslim problem, a problem that occasionally erupts in acts of terror, the Philippines should have lent its voice, or its presence, to an activity that denounces such senselessness by sending some Filipino official.

The demonstration should not be misunderstood as a manifestation of hatred toward Muslims or toward Islam. That there were a number of Muslim leaders present, including the King of Jordan and the prime minister of Turkey, should dispel this thought promptly. Moreover, the far right in France, which has been agitating against Muslims, was not allowed to participate.

Politics aside, France had been one of the countries that promptly responded when the Philippines was crippled by Yolanda. The demonstration would have been an opportune time to express both gratitude and solidarity with France in its moment of great sorrow and anxiety. But like our role model the United States, the Philippines too failed, for whatever reason, to appreciate the significance of the moment and missed the bus.