The tests of friendship

Is America really our friend? There are many Filipinos who doubt that friendship. But my family and I believe that compared to China and Russia, America is still the best. It isn’t perfect, but who is.

I’m here in Atlanta, Georgia, invited by my friends to the global headquarters of Coca-Cola and CNN. Today is supposed to be our 76th Independence anniversary had we stuck it out with July 4 instead of June 12. We celebrated it from 1946 until 1964 when President Disosdado Macapagal changed it to June 12. Effective May 12, 1964, July 4 was downgraded into a mere romantic celebration like a lovers' anniversary, Philippine-American Friendship Day. I am here in the country of our friends, contemplating our own homeland.

Activists and revolutionaries ask: Is America really our friend? Well, I would choose the USA anytime over China, Russia, India, or even Japan. We have our gripes and misgivings. America has its faults. But compared to others, it’s still the least harmful among our allies. America is better than Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or even UK. And better than Spain which colonized us and ravaged us for 377 years.

I don’t agree with President Quezon's braggadocio: "I prefer a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans." Well, we weren’t careful with our desires. God granted us our prayers. Several times our government was run like hell indeed, and not by Americans or other foreigners. Of course, Americans have gained much from its colonization of the Philippines.

Even after 1946, the US gained much from the right to exploit our natural resources by virtue of the Laurel-Langley Agreement, and free use of our land for the US bases. Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos fought for the US in World War II. Thousands of our soldiers died in the infamous Death March.

The Philippines, upon the prodding of America, sent thousands of our young men to South Korea to fight the communists and defend democracy. That was the Philippines Expeditionary Force to Korea, led by my uncle, Col. Nicanor Jimenez. Hundreds of our men died there. We also sent to Vietnam our Philippine Civic Action Group, and many of our soldiers, some of my cousins included, died there. A number were captured by Vietcong and were either tortured or executed, or both.

For all our sacrifices, many of America’s promises to our veterans were not fulfilled. US President Harry Truman promised to give to all Filipinos who would fight for them that whatever would be given to US soldiers would be granted to our veterans too. Well, in fairness, many were granted US citizenship, my late father included. But when they reached America they had to work in their old age to augment the small pension they got.

Despite all these, I still consider America our friend. They bought our land, along with Puerto Rico and Guam for $20 million. They paid the ransom for the Filipinos to be liberated from Spain. We should also recognize the many good things America has done for our country and people. Today, I’m doing precisely that. America isn’t the best of friends but it could be worse if America becomes our enemy. America, contrary to Quezon, didn’t run our country like hell. Our own so-called leaders made a hell out of our motherland.

America isn’t perfect, but who is? For me, it’s still the home of the brave and the land of the free. We have millions of Fil-Ams in the US. There’s no single state without a Pinoy. There’s even a Filipino fisherman in Anchorage, Alaska (my younger brother who used to work for San Miguel HR in Mandaue), card dealers in Las Vegas, surgeons in New York, nurses in Texas, and librarians in Chicago. I am even meeting with Fil-Ams who are Coca-Cola executives and CNN communications engineers here in Atlanta.

The friendship between the Philippines and America isn’t in a treaty but in the hearts of millions of Pinoys who love the land of milk and honey and reside in the house of Uncle Sam. They love our country but they would rather stay here away from the trolls, fake news, and talangka mentality. Their blood relatives are in RP but their friends are in America.

That, to me, is the true meaning of today's celebration. I’m drinking to that as I savor one bottle of Coke here in Atlanta. America is still our best friend, especially as China keeps on intruding into our exclusive economic zones and territorial domain.