Prosecute the traitors!

When I watched the television footage of two air force planes reportedly belonging to Communist China flying aggressively in circles above a Philippine Air Force plane that was patrolling the air space above the West Philippine Sea, (together with other air assets of foreign allies), I wanted to get out of my house, carrying my sling shot to shoot these communist invaders. How I wished that the pebble that I could use might hit the Chinese pilot in the middle of his two eyes and fly his jet fighter to a fiery crash.

I may sound crazy but believe me, I use this dramatic hyperbole because I am at my wits end hearing about these repeated “animo belligerendi,” these bullying acts committed by this Godless modern superpower. Even in my own personal sense of total helplessness, I have been angered by the invasion, usurpation and actual occupation by China of some parts of the West Philippine Sea considering that the International Arbitral Tribunal ruled these to be within our Exclusive Economic Zone and certainly within Philippine territorial sovereignty.

All the more was I angered when I came upon a Facebook post which reported about a group of Filipino vloggers who recently got invited by Communist China on a two week all-expense paid vacation there. They were reportedly dined like insatiable gluttons and wined like the way Qin (pronounced as Chin) first emperor of China, drowned his military generals in drunken stupor. The FB post mentioned about these vloggers being indoctrinated by their hosts so that when they came home to the Philippines, they could use their talents to give justification to whatever criminal acts these chink-eyed monsters are doing. (By the way, my editor advised me to refrain from using “chink-eyed” because this is a foul and discriminatory language that should not find space in a column like Off Tangent. But if only to demonstrate how angry I am, I humbly request permission from my editor to use this term as I insist to be subjective and foul mouthed here.)

The FB post appeared authentic, although it is not necessarily admissible in evidence. In fact, it replayed the audio of the meeting where the China sojourn of the vloggers was discussed. There was even a voice of an indignant Philippine senator that was heard impeccably clear. Was he calling for a senate investigation?

This is where my beef, nay anger, lies. When these vloggers, presumably bribed, give their comments in their radio commentaries and podcasts supporting the position of China on the issue of the West Philippine Sea, they have become traitors. There is a provision in our Revised Penal Code that “any Filipino citizen who levies war against the Philippines or adheres to her enemies, giving them aid or comfort within the Philippines or elsewhere, shall be xxx guilty of treason. While there is yet no state of war being declared by China and the Philippines. there is a principle in international law that says war “commences upon the commission of an act of force by one party (like China’s occupancy of some islets) done animo belligerendi. Any commentary by the vloggers in favor of China is adherence to that country and gives aid or comfort to the Chinese. They have violated our penal statutes. If they are prosecuted, we’re only asserting our rights.

This undeclared war that Communist China is waging against us requires the unity of all Filipinos. No one should go astray from this dangerous path. So, let our intelligence agencies identify these Filipino vloggers who have become peddlers of China’s cause and prosecute them for treason.