What does being under MGCQ mean?

I understand that the entire Cebu and its component cities have been placed under a modified general community quarantine (MGQ) until Sept. 15, 2020 for whatever it is worth. First of all, let me remind everyone that the coronavirus is still very much around. This means if we are not extra careful, we could be reeling back to earlier days come Sept. 15. To be totally honest, I really don’t know what the difference between the MGCQ and the GCQ is.

What I do know is what I saw last Sunday after hearing the Holy Mass in Sacred Heart Church. As we went up the mountains of Cebu, I saw so many vehicles, not just motorcycles lining up the road, but also cars with their passengers buying fruits or vegetables, garden plants and flowers. It’s something that I never saw before. Come now, my bike group was the first to climb up the Transcentral Highway and I have seen how it has grown. More importantly, people would rather spend their Sunday morning in the open air, than spend it in a shopping mall. No doubt many Cebuanos have learned their lesson after Cebu City became the city with the longest lockdown in the world.

So how long will we be in MGCQ? Well, I read in the news that Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said he would thoroughly consult with the three sectors which he considers “very important” in the fight against COVID-19, saying, “I hope that there will be some restrictions.” However, Mayor Labella stressed that this should not be the reason for residents to be complacent because “the virus is still very much around.” I fully agree with the mayor that we cannot be complacent. Come on, if there is anything that I don’t want to see come Sept. 15, it is Cebu returning to stricter GCQ. So let us be extra careful.

* * *

I like the news report that the Philippines’ top diplomat, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., is considering resurrecting the Office of North Borneo Affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) after Malaysia filed a diplomatic protest rejecting the Philippines’ Sabah claim. As Sec. Locsin pointed out, “I remember an old bureau within the DFA exclusively devoted to the issue. Wonder if it’s still up.”

Meanwhile, Malaysia issued its second note verbale rejecting Philippine territorial claims over Sabah. In another news, the heirs to the Sultanate of Sulu have asked the Philippine government to revive the long dormant Office of the North Borneo Affairs (ONBA) at the DFA. As Sec. Locsin said, the Philippines will not abandon its territorial claim over Sabah despite aggressive financial offers.

Locsin pointed out that there have been “repeated offers” in the past involving huge amounts of money for the Philippines to drop its claims over Sabah, formerly known as North Borneo.

We know for a fact that the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. negotiated a deal with Malaysia that the Philippines, under his leadership, would give up Sabah if Malaysia would help him fight the Marcos dictatorship. Although these are just rumors, you can take note that in the 1987 Constitution hammered by 49 of Cory’s supporters, the map of Sabah was removed. Why was this when the 1935 Constitution clearly had the map under Philippine sovereignty?

Meanwhile, out of the blue, we learned that former Foreign Affairs secretary Albert del Rosario, retired Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio, and former ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales urged the Philippines to raise the 2016 Hague ruling against China in the United Nations. The so-called powerhouse trio made the joint call last Sunday, August 30, roughly two weeks before the UN General Assembly (UNGA) meets for its 75th regular session on Sept. 15. Makes me suspect that this trio is in New York City. According to the trio, “bringing the arbitral ruling to the UNGA is not reigniting the case. It is merely enforcing what we already won.

As international law does not have a world policeman, it is up to us to enforce the arbitral ruling by rallying other countries to our lawful position.” For me, this is already unnecessary as no country supports China’s Nine-Dash Line. Best of all, US Defense Secretary Mike Pompeo supports our stand.

If there is anything I would like to know about the trio, it is their stand on our claim on Sabah. I haven’t heard a peep from these supposedly well-educated people. But I suspect that since they are Aquino people, they would be against our claim in Sabah.

* * *

For email responses to this article, write to [email protected] . His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com .