The social networking sites are now cluttered with
different opposing partisan political propaganda,- black, white and gray, which
are intended to boost the bid of their respective presidential bets this coming
Philippine elections in May. The netizens, filled with emotions and armed with over-eagerness
to defend or promote their candidates, allowed themselves to act like talkative
puppets in the hands of a political ventriloquist. The heated online debates
are now at their best. The discussions, fair or foul, are polluting the social
media. Irritating memes and links that are scraped from propaganda sites of
political parties and politicians sadly invade even our deepest apolitical moment
in cyberspace.
These kinds of people allowed themselves to be hallucinated
by emotions brought about by the campaign delirium. They are drowned by the illusion
that the result of the elections, especially in the presidential and vice
presidential races, solely lie in
the hands of the voters, in the voting power of the people and the efficiency
of the electoral laws and systems. As if American meddling in Philippine
politics is just in our dream. As if the American transnational corporations,
its main intelligence agency and diplomatic channels are just passively watching
over us during voting time. As if the US-influenced media and the survey firms do
not manipulate the people and the electoral events to ensure US economic and
political control in this part of the globe. As if China has no plan to follow
suit. Yes, both Washington and Beijing would surely influence our domestic
politics in 2016 and beyond. These two countries’ unseen but critical hand in
the Philippine presidential race is very much neglected by the on-line, almost
cultic pinduteros in our midst.
Foreign meddling in our political life or internal
affairs is an objective reality, as attested by our political history. With
Beijing’s assertion of its control over the West Philippine Sea and the
Philippine court’s approval of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)
with US, the coming election is destined to be included in the war strategy of
the two superpowers. The US, our distant friend and China, a bullying neighbor,
are here to influence the results of the elections. Those avid supporters of
certain candidates trolling over the social networking sites are aimed at
risking their reputation, sanity and all for their candidates. At the macro
level, moneyed American and Chinese corporations would surely bankroll certain
presidential candidate and employ every tactic in the book, overt or
clandestine, to make certain candidate win and therefore to affect the campaign
and its result. Secret compromises between the candidates and power brokers of
these two influential countries have already been made, no doubt. The
presidential candidates we see in the debates and the political TV ads nowadays
endeavor to obtain their support. This would dilute the sanctity of our
electoral system. In the process, it would diminish the independence of
intelligence thus weaken the action of every avid supporter of certain
candidates for the two highest positions in the land. Be it off-line or
on-line.
In pages 32-33 of her book “Issues without Tears: Volume I”
which was published in 1984, historian Letizia R. Constantino wrote that Manuel
Roxas’ presidential bid in 1945 was supported by Gen. Douglas MacArthur and US
High Commissioner Paul V. MacNutt despite of Roxas’ previous collaboration with
the Japanese. President Manuel Roxas is the grandfather of now administration
candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas III. Let us hear from Constantino: “During the campaign, men who had been in
MacArthur’s staff – Andres Soriano, Enrique Zobel, Charles Parsons and Joseph
McMicking were big contributors to Roxas’ campaign fund.” Roxas, as
expected, won the election. He conformed to the ideals of the Americans and
since then, Uncle Sam was able to advance his economic interests in the
Philippines through the Bell Trade Act and exploited of our natural resources.
Under the said Act, American citizens and corporations were given equal or same
trade rights as Filipinos.
The elder Roxas too, ensured the presence of the
US Military Bases in the Philippines just like how his grandson supports the EDCA
now. Constantino further wrote, “Roxas
gave the Americans the privileges they wanted and suppressed the only groups
that opposed American demands.” The
Aquino Administration or his Tuwid na
Daan is very welcoming to US. The Roxas presidency would bring back the heydays
of the American military presence in the country.
Thus, geopolitics is the most neglected aspect in
every debate and exchanges among supporters of each presidentiable over every social networking site today. They are mostly
confined to the sensationalized trivialities evolving around 2016 elections. Matters
that entertain us away from the long lingering monster left unseen behind a
tree.
Philippine elections are fragments of America’s
colonial legacy. Jejomar Binay already declared his openness to talk with Beijing
on the disputed territory or the heightening of economic ties with China the
moment he is elected to office. He said to local media some months back, “We have to accept the fact that China has
all the capital and we have the property over there, so why don’t we try to
develop that property as a joint venture?” Last February, Rody Duterte hummed
the same tune saying that he is open to joint exploration with China on the
West Philippine Sea. The Economist reported that, “Chinese diplomats have given almost open support to his [Aquino’s] vice-president,
Jejomar Binay, who was elected separately and will be the main opposition
candidate in the May presidential election.” On the other hand, Grace Poe, formerly
held both Filipino and American citizenship is married to an American
citizen. Therefore, we do not expect an outright anti-American foreign policy
under her watch.
As long as there is election, we open our doors to
foreign meddling and our fundamental right as citizens to be sovereign in our
country would forever be a dream. The right to self- determination is the ever
elusive dream of every patriotic Filipino, then and now.
The question of foreign intervention in our elections is so essential
that the die-hard supporters and/or bashers of Mar Roxas, Digong Duterte, Grace
Poe and Jojo Binay intellectually downplayed in this critical junction of our
nation’s history…
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