US-Phl relations: Not personal but country’s interest

It was bad enough the country lost the opportunity to interact with a close ally like the United States during the ASEAN Summit in Laos, but now people are even more shocked by President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncements that he wants American troops out of Mindanao. The president is blaming the US for the situation in Mindanao which experts noted has become a training ground, if not a safe haven for foreign terrorists, in particular the Islamic State (ISIS) that has intensified its recruitment activities in Southeast Asia.

Intelligence sources are also pointing to the possibility of the southern Philippines becoming the next “wilayat” or province of ISIS. As pointed out by former Magdalo party list representative and security expert Ashley Acedillo, southern Philippines is part of the so-called Sulu-Sabah-Sulawesi triangle that is being exploited by terrorists and traffickers as entry/exit points due to the porous borders.

Cabinet officials are trying to “contextualize” the president’s statements by claiming it was an expression of concern for the safety of the Americans who could be targeted by the Abu Sayyaf Group. US soldiers know how to take care of themselves and, in fact, there has not been any report of American military being abducted in Mindanao.

Philippine military officials cannot really comment about the issue, but many admitted being “stunned” because the US troops have been providing valuable technical assistance to the AFP and more importantly, humanitarian aid as attested to by the almost tearful plea of local officials in Sulu and Basilan for the president to reconsider his statement.

A disaster-prone country like the Philippines needs all the help it can get from allies like the US whose military transport assets could be utilized for search and rescue, medical evacuation, dropping of relief goods and other humanitarian and disaster-relief activities — as seen when the country was devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Some argue the presence of American military in Mindanao makes the Philippines a target of terrorists — but look at the example of France that has been the target of recent terrorist attacks. As noted by Acedillo, France adopted a “live and let live” stance with some areas even becoming “safe havens” for terrorists. The French government also distanced itself from the US war on terrorism. Yet France still became a target of terrorists who accused it of showing “partiality” to America.

“The same thing could happen to us,” warned the former soldier. Assuming we let go of our alliance with the Americans, it won’t be long before these extremists come up with another grievance as an excuse to target locals which they are in fact doing, kidnapping and beheading an 18-year-old Filipino last month.

Is it possible the president is using this anti-US stance to appease the Chinese and get them to be more open in discussing mutual concerns without the baggage of our close ties with the United States? If that is the strategy, then we certainly hope he succeeds. But if the issue seems to be personal, then the president should start reconsidering because he is no longer speaking for himself but for 110 million Filipinos — a very large majority of whom believe the US is still our best ally judging from the comments received by the Philippine STAR in reaction to the headline the other day.

Looming infra boom

The government’s commitment to “redouble” improvements on infrastructure has boosted the confidence of businessmen who took part in the recent forum on the future of infrastructure in the Philippines. Spearheaded by Euromoney Seminars and IJGlobal, “The Philippines Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum 2016” held at the plush Fairmont hotel in Makati centered on the bullish infrastructure development plans of the administration, the opportunities and challenges present in the power industry, and the emerging role of renewable energy.

Not surprisingly, discussions on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program in the segment dubbed as “Maximizing opportunities in roads and railways” generated a lot of interest among participants and key resource persons that include Andre Palacios, former PPP Center director; Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and CEO Rodrigo Franco; Private Infra Development Corp. CFO Myrna Reinoso; Acciona Infraestructuras’ Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia Business Development director Nicholas Wall; and Obrascon Huarte Lain, S.A. director for Asia Pacific Francisco Moreno.

Discussions touched on the modifications by the past administration that continue to remain relevant, and the proposed changes by the current administration such as those relating to risk mitigation.  Areas for collaboration between local and foreign developers were also tackled as well as the possibility of obtaining foreign funding for PPP projects.

The OHL team of Moreno — who recently paid a courtesy visit on Public Works Secretary Mark Villar — forged key strategic partnerships with Ayala Corp.’s AC Infrastructure Holdings and also Aboitiz Equity Ventures in some projects. OHL recognizes the importance of infrastructure in jumpstarting a country’s wellbeing and economic growth, and they are looking at railway projects that would help spur economic activity in many areas of the country. According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, the government is preparing to roll out 14 railways projects worth P1 trillion, most of which will be in urban centers in Luzon as well as Cebu, Mindanao and of course, Metro Manila where traffic congestion seems to have become the new normal.

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