Standing up to the neighborhood bully

Whoever is elected president on May 9 should not be palsy-walsy with China, so the Philippines can get the respect it deserves.

Our being too friendly with our big neighbor is probably mistaken for obsequiousness.

But let’s not be too confrontational with China either.

Several incidents at the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, wherein China coast guard ships either drove or practically whisked away vessels carrying the Philippine flag, have become common occurrences, because we don’t stand our ground.

The incidents could be considered as a global superpower bullying an itsy-bitsy country.

The reason for the continuous bullying at the Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc, a traditional fishing area for Filipino fishermen, is our seemingly meek attitude.

Why don’t we do an Indonesia, whose coast guard ships would persuade Chinese men-o’-war to retreat from a confrontation over areas claimed by both Indonesia and China?

This columnist used to agree with President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte’s stand that if a shooting war erupts between our ships and those of China over disputed areas in the South China Sea – or West Philippine Sea as we call them – our ships would be wiped out.

But now I’ve changed my mind since the fight between Russia and Ukraine.

China would become a pariah in the international community if she fought us over contested areas in the West Philippine Sea.

Even if we lose the fight, the Big Dragon would lose its reputation as a peaceful, willing-to-compromise titan.

Russia has become a leper in the community of nations for invading Ukraine.

From where I sit as a former special envoy to China who once had backchats with middle-level Chinese officials and businessmen, our neighborhood superpower will try to avoid being an outcast in the community of nations.

In my back-channeling with some Chinese businessmen and middle-level officials through dinner and moutai, the national liquor, I found that the Chinese bureaucracy is so big and cumbersome that oftentimes the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.

The incidents at the West Philippine Sea are examples of China’s higher-ups not knowing about the shenanigans of the “little people downstairs.”

I once complained over the telephone to my Chinese drinking buddies that many of their fishing vessels were seen off an atoll that the Philippines claims.

The following day, many of the Chinese fishing boats were gone.

My drinking buddies told me that China didn’t want to quarrel with us because they need to do business with us, especially in the fields of agriculture, aquaculture and tourism.

China, I was told, has bought thousands of hectares of land in Africa to plant vegetables and fruits for its humongous population.

Africa, which is mostly barren, is also far from China. Harvested food becomes expensive because of the distance.

Manila, a good four hours by plane from China’s capital, Beijing, is an ideal and inexpensive source of tropical fruits – banana, pineapple, durian, mangosteen, lanzones, coconut, etc. – and seafood because of its close proximity.

Already, my friends in Beijing and Shanghai have been calling me to say that business relations between the Philippines and China would return with a vengeance after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Does former actress and socialite Gretchen Barretto have such a hold on Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa that her flogging of him might be considered “below the belt?”

Barretto was bold enough to go on social media recently to tease Bato about his qualification as a legislator and the source of the neophyte senator’s “expensive” watch.

Ms. Barretto was reacting to Bato’s presiding over an ongoing Senate investigation on the fate of the missing sabungeros (cockfight aficionados).

Barretto, an intimate friend of Charlie “Atong” Ang, who was grilled during the Senate inquiry, said Bato should “just get down” to business and to “stop grandstanding.”

“How did Bato become senator? Tingnan mo nga ang line of questioning niya. Kailangan talaga lawyer ang nakaupo (Look at his line of questioning. A lawyer should be sitting there). People, vote wisely. Don’t vote a Bato.”

Gretchen said that Bato is even among the players of e-sabong. The implication is that he has no business investigating something of which he is a part.

“Ang mahal ng relo mo (You have an expensive watch), Bato! Saan kaya nanggaling yan (Where did that come from)? My God! A senator has that watch? Oh my gosh!” said the controversial common-law partner of tycoon Antonio “Tony Boy” Cojuangco.

In the past, Dela Rosa supposedly wore a Richard Mille watch, which was worth a whopping P25 million!

And someone like Gretchen would know about expensive watches, as she is a woman of expensive tastes, and is in a relationship with a billionaire.

Sometime ago, the senator was seen window-shopping for a sports bicycle, and what he was looking at was supposedly worth P700,000.

She added, “Tumatalpak kasi itong si Bato, eh (Bato bets on cockfighting). Ilabas kaya natin ang mga talpak mo (Why don’t we come out with your bets in cockfighting)? Alam ko may balance to sayo Kate, no (I know he still owes you, Kate). The truth will come out soon, Bato.”

People are asking who “Kate” is and why the policeman-turned-senator owes a gambling debt to Kate.
Dela Rosa was the most controversial and comical chief of the Philippine National Police. His antics have endeared him to the masses that elected him senator.

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A recent directive by Interior Secretary Eduardo Año to Gen. Dionardo Carlos, PNP chief, said that policemen should not apprehend collectors of numbers games that are under litigation on the question of their legality.

Año was apparently referring to Peryahan ng Bayan whose petition to become legal is pending in the Court of Appeals.

Both Peryahan and its opposing rival, STL, are numbers games allowed by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).