Malaya

By Rey O. Arcilla

WHEN I was asked earlier this week by a CNN Philippines reporter whether the recent brouhaha involving President Rodrigo Roa Duterte aka Digong and US President Barack Hussain Obama would be good or bad for PH-US relations, I said “good”.

Good, because now the US knows that we have a president quite different from his predecessors – a president who would chart an independent foreign policy as mandated by the Constitution, free from interference by any foreign power, particularly the US with whom we are supposed to have “special relations” that have altogether been special only to her; a president who is definitely not in awe of anybody; and a president whose only mantra is to promote and protect the welfare of his people and the national interest.

Other countries, particularly the US, are not used to seeing or hearing a Philippine president with the guts to tell the US that we are no longer a colony of hers; that ours is a sovereign state; that he is answerable only to the Filipino people; and that he would not be lectured by anyone on human rights in the midst of the government’s war against illegal drugs that has already engulfed 93 percent of the country’s barangays.

It is a war. And in any war, there will be casualties and collateral damage. If people want to talk about human rights, they should give more emphasis to the human rights of the drug victims and their families who number in the millions.

Yes, I think the relationship could be much better in that the US may now accept the fact that ours is a sovereign state to be treated with more respect, not as a client-state.

The more the US pushes Digong on the human rights issue, the more the “solid” ties between our two countries will be adversely affected.
          For the record, I do not blame the US entirely for the shabby treatment we have been getting from her all these years. She has merely been looking after her own national interests.

The major part of the blame rests with our past leaders, some of whom are still around. They allowed the US to have her way, at the expense of our national interests.

***

The media, foreign ones especially, had a field day demonizing Digong by saying he insulted Obama. He did not! He only told the truth about the human rights track record of the US. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, as they say. And as Digong pointed out, wouldn’t Obama be insulting him when he lectures him on human rights?

The foreign and the conscripted local media also wrote that Digong called Obama a “son of a bitch”. Again, he did not! He merely uttered his favorite Tagalog cuss word “putang ina” which means “a mother who is a whore”. But he did not direct it at Obama.

As in the case of the outgoing American ambassador, Digong did not say “putang ina mo” or “putang ina ka”. If he said that, yes, that would be calling Obama a “son of a bitch”, “ka” and “mo” being the equivalent of “you”.

To put it more simply, when Digong uttered “putang ina” it was like using the word “fuck”, which Americans are wont to say, without the word “you”.

I hope this explanation now makes it more comprehensible to foreigners, especially journalists, the nuances of the Filipino national language.

As for local journalists and, of course, their editors who follow the deliberate distortion made by their foreign counterparts, well, p…. i…..!

***

Digong has been president for a little over two months. He has been a mayor for over twenty years. He dealt with his constituents in plain street language with the inevitable expletives. He has never been exposed to international or diplomatic conferences.

I’m sure if he had his druthers, he would not go abroad for some international conference unless he has to, just like the one in Laos where the chairmanship of the Asean was to be turned over to us. One could also see he does not relish reading a prepared speech. It’s just not his cup of tea.

He has to learn diplomatese, as some “experts” say. I agree but he cannot do that overnight. Besides, his main preoccupation at the moment is the drug problem, corruption and criminality.

But to me, what is important is what he says, not how he says it. Of course, it is another story when he is talking with a counterpart or addressing an international conference.

I think all he has to do, for the time being, is to keep his promise to stop using his favorite cuss word or any other expletive when talking about a person in public.

***

Digong’s spokesman said that a meeting between Digong and Obama has been reset to a future date. Fine. But definitely it should not take place anywhere in the US.

Of course, it’s up to Digong to decide where, if he thinks it’s important to talk with Obama before the latter “retires” in four months. He just might decide it would be better to wait for the next US president.

On the other hand, noting the statement of a Washington official that Obama “will not soften his criticism about human rights here, I doubt if Digong will soften his stand on the issue either. That alone might make Obama decide in the end not to meet with Digong.

Why? The Western media and some of our own headlined that Obama cancelled his meeting with Digong in Vientiane because he doesn’t want to engage in any talks if nothing productive would come out of it. I don’t really buy that.

My take? Obama did not want to be told by Digong of the human rights violations in the US, particularly the recent cold-blooded killings of blacks in the US by policemen. That would place Obama in a very awkward position. He would be hard put to comment on it one way or the other. It would be a Catch 22 situation for him.

Reason? He is black.

I could be wrong, of course.

***

I had a dream last night, a conversation between Digong and Obama and between Digong and UN’s Ban Ki Moon. According to Digong’s aides, the three were supposed to be seated next to each other during the Asean gala dinner. Apparently, it didn’t happen.

Conversation between Digong and Obama:

Digong: How are you Mr. President? How is Mrs. Obama? And your two kids?

Obama: I’m fine, thank you. Michelle too. And the two girls, well you know how it is with teenagers. But they are fine too. How about you? Mrs. Duterte? Your kids? And grandkids?

Digong: Oh, I’m single. Two of the kids just had to face a big problem. You know, the terrorist bombing in Davao City. The eldest, the girl, is mayor while her younger brother is the vice mayor. They’re pretty busy right now because of the incident. The third, a boy, I honestly don’t know what he does half of the time. But he’s fine too. Thanks. Oh, I nearly forgot… Kitty is fine too. The grandkids, I hardly see them now. But I guess they’re fine too.

Obama: That’s great! Well, bon appetit, Mr. President.

Digong: Thanks. Bon appetit.

Conversation between Digong and Ban:

Digong: How are you Secretary General?

Ban: I’m fine. Thanks. And you, Mr. President?

Digong: I’m ok. Thanks.

Ban: Bon appetit.

Digong: Bon appetit.

It was a looonnnggg dinner for the three.

***

Email: roacrosshairs@outlook.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/reynaldo.arcilla.9847