‘Everything will be alright in the end’

With the recent pronouncements and actions of Donald Trump, the world seems to be on edge about what will happen next. The new US president’s executive order that bans all immigration from seven predominantly-Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – has sent shock waves all over the globe with chaos reigning in many airports as travelers from the affected countries are prevented from boarding flights or sent home once they set foot in the US.

I was told the US State Department estimates that 60,000 immigrant and non-immigrant visas of individuals have been provisionally revoked shortly after the ban was imposed. World leaders have condemned the order while thousands are protesting at airports and near the White House, calling it “racist” and “unconstitutional.”

Iran called the ban an “insult to the Muslim world” as well as a “gift to extremists and their supporters,” proceeding to apply the “principle of reciprocity” by banning US wrestlers from competing in the Freestyle World Cup Competition. Earlier, Iran fired a medium-range ballistic missile – perceived as a hardline response especially with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s statement on Twitter that his country remains “unmoved by threats…” and while it will “never initiate war,” it can rely on its own means of defense.

The White House responded by issuing additional sanctions by the US Treasury Department against 13 people and 12 companies, adding that it will no longer “turn a blind eye to Iran’s hostile and belligerent actions against the US.” 

US traditional allies like Australia are also concerned about recent developments, in particular the refugee deal agreed upon during the Obama administration last November wherein some 1,250 refugees (many of them from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Iraq) from Australia-run offshore detention centers would be resettled in the US. Trump is opposed to the deal, reportedly calling it “dumb” and accusing Australia of wanting to export the “next Boston bombers.” The White House said Trump is studying the deal which was described as “poorly crafted.”

Meantime, what was supposed to be a well-planned raid conducted by US Navy SEALs in Yemen targeting an al-Qaeda camp turned into a full-blown firefight that resulted in the death of two Americans including a Navy SEAL. Obviously, Trump’s new policies and recent actions – including the decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – are not only putting his leadership to the test but also driving fears all over the world because of potential wide-ranging consequences.

Actually, a lot of people saw this coming when Trump promised radical change during the campaign – in particular his vow to go after illegal immigrants and decimate terrorists off the face of the earth. Sure enough, he shook the world order in less than 10 days after taking office.

Our Washington sources estimate that of the millions of illegal immigrants now in the US, more than 820,000 have criminal records. An estimated 310,000 Filipinos have also been identified by the Department of Homeland Security as illegal aliens and are up for deportation, creating all kinds of fears and apprehensions among Filipinos.

While the Department of Foreign Affairs said they will provide assistance to those who will be affected, President Rodrigo Duterte however has advised Filipinos in the US that they broke US laws, and does not intend to “lift a finger” to help them. As far as the president is concerned, he and US president Donald Trump have their own domestic problems and issues to worry about.

Locally, our problem with “police brutality” has surfaced and has in fact escalated, the most telling of which is the kidnap-slaying case of Korean national Jee Ick-joo whose shocking details reveal just how deeply involved several Philippine National Police officials are in illegal activities such as kidnap-for ransom and the illegal drugs trade. People have suspected all along that rogue cops are mired in corruption activities, with the perception also heightened that human rights violations and related issues do exist.

Add to that the recent termination of the unilateral ceasefire with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) following several attacks mounted by communist rebels against soldiers. All of these are extremely worrisome for many Filipinos.

But looking at the bright side of things to come – the economy is expected to grow rapidly this year with Japan and China coming in very strong with investment and loan pledges. We had dinner with Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez the other night and he related his recent visit to Beijing which proved to be successful – $9 billion in investments confirmed by China, and indicating their openness to proposals to co-finance big-ticket infrastructure projects in the country.

Japan is also doing the same thing, matching China’s commitment as seen in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s financing and investment pledges to the Philippines amounting to one trillion yen. Japanese firms and banking giant Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ are preparing funding for several big-scale projects. All of these developments are obviously good news for the country.

In retrospect, the president’s decision to craft a new independent foreign policy veering away from being totally dependent on the United States seems to be paying off. In fact, I told President Duterte’s closest friend and adviser, Sonny Dominguez, that the president seems to have a crystal ball. The always cool, calm and collected Finance Secretary replied: “Everything will be alright in the end,” adding that “If everything is not all right, then it’s not yet the end.”

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