PBBM – our super top diplomat

Professor Richard Heydarian, a widely read and respected columnist, wrote an opinion piece that in essence articulated some of the many things I had wanted to write about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and how he has performed in the one-and-a-half year that he has been in office. It’s just as well that Professor Heydarian wrote about the topic because if it had been me, my objectivity would have been questioned by the usual suspects, clearly because I’m related to the President.

In the very straightforward, exclusive online piece for Journal of Democracy titled “The Son Also Rises,” Richard expressed the surprise, and perhaps even consternation, that critics and skeptics must be feeling and experiencing because President Marcos is proving that their preconceived notions as well as their “fears” about him are turning out to be unfounded.

When Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took on the presidency on June 30, 2022, Professor Heydarian admitted that he had warned (like what others must have wanted to do) that “Marcos Jr. could turn out to be not just a debonair career underachiever but [also] an insidious threat.”

But in reality, those who were against Bongbong Marcos sitting as president are now finding him “palatable” – to say the least – because “the new President has emerged as an unlikely ‘reformer’ of Philippine politics as well as a tough defender of Philippine sovereign rights in the South China Sea,” Richard put it, additionally noting that the President has “advanced a radical reorientation of his country’s domestic politics as well as foreign policy. If it seems a stretch to call him a conscious champion of liberal democracy, it may not be unreasonable to note the unexpected set of more democracy-favorable conditions that his administration has ushered in.”

It’s no secret that among the issues that were thrown against President BBM during the campaign period for the May 2022 elections was that he might undermine democracy and rule in an autocratic manner. Yet the past year saw the President’s tenure coinciding with legal victories of key civil society figures such as Maria Ressa and former senator Leila de Lima in cases filed during the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte, pointed out Professor Heydarian, observing that President Marcos Jr. – whom he described as urbane and soft spoken – eschewed “incendiary and confrontational rhetoric,” often speaking of “reconciliation and national unity, even during the anniversary of the popular revolution that toppled his father.”

One source of admiration for many – with even his staunchest critics grudgingly admitting to it – is that the President is doing extremely well in foreign policy, strengthening alliances with Western countries and like-minded nations – seeking to maintain balance, peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. In fact, PBBM was his usual “charming” best at the Malacañang vin d’honneur he and the First Lady hosted the other night.

Indeed, the President is defying all pre- or, perhaps more accurately, “ill-conceived notions” about him, because on a personal basis, I have seen how he has evolved into the kind of leader that has gained the respect of the international community by demonstrating a keen understanding of the evolving geopolitical situation and showing his willingness to collaborate on global issues that include climate change, among other things.

No question – from where I sit in Washington, DC, the regard for the Philippines is at its best in the Western world because, in spite of the very challenging situation in the South China Sea, President Marcos is unflinching in asserting Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity while at the same time showing patience in continuing to reach out to China, as well as other claimant nations, to seek a peaceful resolution to maritime disputes.

In his quest to find a peaceful solution, the President is taking the lead to talk with concerned ASEAN member-countries to push for a separate Code of Conduct to resolve conflicting maritime claims that would be mutually beneficial to all claimants without sacrificing our respective interests. During the visit of President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, the discussion specifically touched on developments in the South China Sea and how to find common interests between ASEAN member-nations.

The President will also be going to Vietnam for an official visit within this month, with the discussion expected to include the South China Sea issue and how the two countries can deepen bilateral ties even further.

As it turns out, our President is proving to be our super top diplomat. So many invitations from so many countries inviting him to visit are being sent to us. The fact is, his foreign travels are elevating the profile of the Philippines not only as a leading investment hub in Asia but as a major player in the Indo-Pacific region. What better news to come out of these foreign trips than the DTI report: Presidential foreign trips have resulted in P294 billion worth of investments.

Last Friday, US President Biden announced that he will send a Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to Manila on March 11-12 headed by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to “enhance US companies’ contributions” to key sectors and “reinforce the Philippines as a key hub for regional supply chains and high-quality investment.”

Many of those who did not welcome the idea of a Marcos in Malacañang are now seeing PBBM differently. The stars were indeed aligned for him because he has taken on the presidency at the most consequential time – a destiny he has embraced as the Philippines is poised to play a major role in the world today, especially when it comes to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

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