For a very long period of time and anchored upon diverse reasons, not the least of which being regional fervor, the Philippines is one country that has chosen to be fragmented in many an issue. Why do I say long period of time? In the decades, nay centuries, that we fought Spanish regime, one group of Filipinos after another, decided not to communicate with the others when they rebelled against the conquistadores. The different rebellions waged in Luzon did not coordinate with the Visayan revolutionaries who did not ally themselves with the Moro rebellion.
China, fueled by its super power status, has, in the last few decades, begun to show its swagger in our region of the continent. Claiming, ascendancy over small and seemingly defenseless states, like the Philippines, this behemoth of a country moves about in reckless disregard of the rights of other countries.
From bits of news releases every now and then released by our authorities to the media, I am sure that our government has lodged protests over the overt acts by China in claiming jurisdiction over clearly Philippine territory. Notes verbale had been passed by our highest leaders to Chinese representatives in our shores but unfortunately these were either completely disregarded by the latter or totally ignored.
This persistent encroachment by China into our territory cannot go on any minute longer. The defense of our territorial integrity, after all, is a patriotic duty every Filipino citizen should not escape from performing. But before we start to shed blood, let all solutions recognized by international law in settling disputes short of war be resorted to.
While our leaders take every such necessary step, we the citizens have to gel together, act as one and for the first time in our history move under a single cadence. We can achieve this by first getting hold of the facts.
In our midst are civic groups of international connections. The Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary are three of the leading associations whose membership is among the elite of our society. They are better purveyors of information than military field operatives. Let them organize at district levels profound and intellectual forums designed to inform their members of the detailed, better still, chronological manner by which China has eaten up hundreds of miles of Philippine territory. When the highest officers of these clubs shall have obtained hard facts of these arrogant and illegal Chinese moves, they have to let their international headquarters of our collective sentiment if only to generate transnational awareness.
Where are the cause-oriented and militant groups? These are our fellow countrymen who continue to be the watchdogs of our national survival. Their patriotic concerns, ranging from the sublime to profound, are impossible to count. For instance, each time an American warship calls a Philippine port, they muster their number, march down the city streets, bang the gates of the US embassy and call upon government leadership to denounce American imperialism.
I must posit that what China is doing to us is worse than what USA had, in all these decades of our alliance, done. America let go of us in July 1946 and when we wanted to stop their use of our facilities like the Clark Air Base and the Subic Bay, they left. There is no American navy ship to isolate any part of our territory west of the Philippines like what China is doing.
If for any reason in the past our cause-oriented and militant brothers denounced USA, they have all the cause to mass our streets and shout against China. On the other hand, if they continue to be blind to the Chinese usurpation of our Filipino land and keep mum at the desecration of our national territorial, they shall have lost their sense of Filipino identity.
On the political organizations lower than the national government, there is so much to be done. There are all sorts of elected officials existing. Let them assemble as frequently as they can now and if only to be sure of the factual data, they should ask the most authoritative personnel of the Department of National Defense, and Foreign Affairs to update them of the situation.
When all of us have gotten hold of the complete data of our dire situation, let us rise as a nation freed from our regional preferences and protest in unison against China to let the world know what is to be publicized.
***
www.slightlyofftangent.blogspot.com