Yes, we the Filipinos can!
In my column last Sunday, I spoke of two events, reported by news media, that caught my attention and I said then that because of space limitations, I could only dwell on the first - the favorable rating given our country as an investment destination. The other news was about the dwindling number of tourists from China that visited the Philippines. Let me express my thought on this topic by recalling various past incidents.
When a number of Chinese tourists were felled by a police officer near the Luneta in Manila few years ago, an exchange of pronouncements was issued by the foreign offices of our country and that of China.It was an international story of which we were, naturally, apologetic, while the Chinese were understandably, bellicose. Not the least of those exchanges mentioned of a consequentslow-down of the traffic of Chinese visitors to our country as a form of censure.
The multiple murders in Manila was followed, not immediately though, by the intrusion of foreign warships flying Chinese flags into parts of Philippine territory more popularly known as the Spratlys (the Freedom land, according to Boholano navigator, Tomas Claudio). Oh yes, the signs printed on the war machines appeared as less warlike as “Maritime Guardsâ€. But did they, using sheer number and obvious firepower, intimidate our coast guard and navy authorities riding aboard antiquated vessels to such an embarrassing position as for us, Filipinos, to simply withdraw from Philippine waters “to avoid escalating the tensionâ€?
Not long after the initial Chinese incursions into our territory, our education officials discovered that educational globes, fabricated by Chinese makers, showed, by dotted lines, the extent of the alleged territory of China. Those lines almost followed the contours of the islands of Luzon and Palawan, both indubitably within Philippine territory. Our officials were alarmed because such projection, if uncontested, swallowed vast portions of our territorial integrity. It was thus understandable that our foreign affairs office had to be involved to register some kind of a note verbale.
In between those events and the last report of dwindling tourists from that country, I remember that: (a) Chinese consumer products like canned grocery items, and even children toys, that reached our market shelves contained various forms of dangerous, meaning poisonous, substances; (b) Filipino OFW's executed in China for such offense as being drug mules; (c) Chinese nationals were arrested in our country for allegedly producing tons and tons of dangerous drugs like shabu.
In all of these incidents, we have been on the receiving end, a very pathetic position. Our situation seems to be merciful and helpless (why not mercifully helpless?). This could only be brought about by our admission of atragic reality. We have lost the correct appreciation of the fundamental international law principle of parity of states. Unfortunately, we cannot really stand up against this bully of a country. China flaunts its immense power and uses its dominant influence in international trade to such an extent that it can simply ignore us or at best, take us for granted.
Many years ago, I noticed and so, wrote that Chinese products had eased from our market stalls Philippine made goods. Because then I could not find one Philippine made tooth brush among those makes produced in China, I sounded a nationalistic alarm. My observation showed that companies manufacturing such needs as fluorescent bulbs and bath soaps, had closed their Philippine factories andrelocated away from our shores. In other words, we havegiven up the fight.
If our government resorts to all conceivable things to try to reverse the process, we still can do it. For instance, let all of us, each time we go to the malls, only look for Philippine made items. The idea is to resist buying Chinese products. Yes, we might have to pay a little more but if this is a sacrifice that we have to do, we must not waver. On the tourism front, our government can and must spend more promotional gimmicks to entice nationalities other than those from China. In fact, it is better than we assume zero tourist arrivals from China so that we can focus on Europeans and Americans. While we are cultivating these markets, let Filipino travelers see the Philippines first. Sadly, this space is not enough to admit other ideas. End.
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