The Philippines' foreign policy is kind of strange to say the least. There are two components to look at here. The first is a false bravado that manifests by hard language and cursing. This appears to be something confined to the Duterte administration. Surely everyone remembers the f-bombs Duterte has thrown at the UN, EU, and USA and his critics in his speeches. This fake machismo has rubbed off onto DFA Secretary Teddyboy Locsin.
After filing scores of diplomatic protests regarding Chinese incursions into the WPS he finally "lost his temper" and dropped an f-bomb in a tweet regarding the issue.
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| https://twitter.com/teddyboylocsin/status/1389021070045290497 |
China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see… O…GET THE FUCK OUT. What are you doing to our friendship? You. Not us. We’re trying. You. You’re like an ugly oaf forcing your attentions on a handsome guy who wants to be a friend; not to father a Chinese province...He doesn’t have a uterus. If he tried to give birth to a Chinese province it would be a ball of crap at best and the end of the regime. What is it so hard to understand about Duterte’s UN declaration that the Arbitral Award made all maritime features Philippines; no one else’s?
Anyone who follows this man on Twitter knows how much of a blowhard he is and will just shrug this off as so much bluster no one, especially China, will pay attention to. The Palace had a rather unexpected take though.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/05/04/2095810/only-duterte-can-curse-palace-says-locsin-sorry-twitter-rant-vs-china |
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has apologized for swearing at China on his Twitter account amid tensions over the West Philippine Sea, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Locsin, who posts freely and often on the social networking site, the day before told China to "get the fuck out" of Philippine waters. "Usual suave diplomatic speak gets nothing done," he also said then, in defense of his remarks.
"Before the press briefing, I spoke with Secretary Locsin and he informed me that he personally apologized to the Chinese ambassador and that the words he said were prompted by things that made him lose his temper," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in Filipino.
"The message of the president is: In the area of diplomacy, there is no place for cursing," he added. "Only the president can curse, no one else can copy him."
Teddy apologized for his tweet, which he has not deleted as of now, and Roque says Duterte's message is there is no place for cursing in diplomacy unless he does it.
Duterte took office on June 30th, 2016 and already by September he had racked up a list of undiplomatic insults toward world leaders. You can read such a list here:
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| https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2015785/diplomacy-duterte-style-heres-10-philippine-leaders-top |
How about these people just be diplomatic and professional and not resort to cursing and insults? Making such remarks results is a false bravado and gives a false impression that something is being done or that those in charge do not like what is happening. But actions speak louder than words and that China has been able to continually encroach upon Philippine territory with absolutely no negative consequences tells us a lot.
As for diplomatic protests, China does not care one bit. In fact the Philippines needs to respect China's sovereignty over the WPS.
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| https://globalnation.inquirer.net/195612/china-doubles-down-on-ownership-claim-on-wps-tells-philippines-to-respect-it |
Wang Wenbin, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said the Philippines should “stop actions complicating the situation and escalating disputes.”
“China enjoys sovereignty over Nansha Islands, including Zhongye Island and Zhongsha Islands, including Huangyan Island and their adjacent waters, and exercises jurisdiction in relevant waters,” Wenbin said at a press briefing on Monday (April 27).
“We urge the relevant side to respect China’s sovereignty and rights and interests,” he added.
Nansha is the Chinese name for the Spratlys, or Kalayaan Island Group in the Philippines. Zhongye Island is Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, while Huangyan is Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal .
However this situation will be solved it won't be by cursing China or blaming past administrations or by accusing detractors of making "illegal remarks."
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1138804 |
“As a lawyer and a diplomat respectively, Justice Carpio and Secretary Del Rosario should know better. They do know better. Therefore, they should stop misleading and endangering our people with illegal, impractical, and irresponsible statements,” he added.
What the heck is an illegal statement? Let me consult my copy of 1984 and get back to you.
The second component to look at here is foreign interference, especially economic interference.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1426890/foreign-grants-aimed-at-swaying-local-policy-an-attack-on-ph-sovereignty-solons |
Foreign private organizations may try to influence the Philippines’ national policies through grants awarded to government agencies — which is “an attack” on the country’s sovereignty.
“I called for this investigation to find out the truth,” Savellano said at the hearing. “Did the FDA issue specific and pre-defined policies on e-cigarettes and HTPs in exchange for funding from foreign private organizations? Is this the reason why the FDA in its one-sided and less-than-transparent virtual public hearing could not give the public a real opportunity to flesh out important provisions and requirements for the regulation of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products?”
For his part, Nograles said: “This is not about the FDA only. The bigger issue here is do we allow government agencies to be influenced by monies coming from foreign private organizations? What we are looking at here is a constitutional violation, an attack on the sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines, our independence itself. That is the big problem.”
This is a long article about grants to the Philippines regarding the tobacco industry and polices regulating tobacco. The Solons posit that grants are being given based on how policy is written. The main contributor is The Union which operates under Bloomberg Philanthropies. Here is what they say about themselves.
The Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use aims to reduce the global demand for tobacco through a comprehensive, proven approach that combines policy change with increased public awareness. Since 2006, The Union has co-managed the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use Grants Program in partnership with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which awards funds to projects delivering high-impact tobacco control interventions in low-and middle-income countries.
Here is what they say about their work in the Philippines:
The Union has been working with Philippines Department of Health since July 2010 to develop and promote legislation and policies that comply with the Philippines' commitments under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, including Article 6 on implementing tax and price measures to reduce the demand for tobacco.
In 2013, a significant policy milestone was achieved when the President signed the Sin Tax reform bill into law - Republic Act No. 10351 (RA 10351). The Sin Tax law is a 'double win' for health in the Philippines as the new tax on tobacco has the net effect of raising the consumer price of cigarettes (and hence predicted impact on smoking rates) as well as raising funds for a universal health care system for the poor. This sin tax came into force on 1 January 2013, and was initially projected to raise P33.96 billion (approx. USD $761M) during the first year of implementation of taxes on tobacco and alcohol. This has been exceeded, and in early 2014, the Secretary of Health, announced the Department of Health will receive P48.3 billion (USD 1.08 M) in additional funds generated.
The Union helped develop the 12 GHW templates which were officially approved by the Secretary of Health on October 2014. The visuals depict a range of health consequences of tobacco use, and are particularly powerful due to their portrayal of 'real life' tobacco victims from the Philippines. Innovative side panels include additional messages about the poisons contained in cigarettes and the back of pack template will contain a website address where smokers can obtain information about quitting. The GHWs come into full effect 20 months from the signing of the templates.
Local Government Smoke-Free Ordinances continue to be a critical tobacco control strategy in the Philippines as these are able to achieve more comprehensive measures than those prescribed by the national laws. Several Union grantees have been involved in supporting the development and enforcement of local government smoke-free ordinances, including Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), FCAP in a series of regional provinces, and via the Civil Service Commission and its effort to raise awareness of and compliance with policy to exclude tobacco industry interference.
It is pretty obvious that The Union is helping to write legislation for the Philippines regarding tobacco regulation. That is indeed very problematic. But the rabbit hole goes much deeper. The Philippines is the recipient of billions in aid from various groups, many of which are CIA fronts. The real question is not, "Are foreign groups influencing the Philippines' legislative process for money," but "which groups are influencing the Philippines' legislative process for money. That is not something I can hope to adequately cover in this blog.
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