Attendees celebrate during U.S. President Barack Obama's election night rally in Chicago, November 6, 2012. REUTERS/Philip …On November 6 (November 7 in the Philippines), Americans voted for
their president, vice-president, 33 senators, and all of their
congressmen.
The whole world awaits the outcome with bated
breath, (and U.S. President Barack Obama is already deemed the winner)
knowing that the leadership choice in the world’s only superpower will
have a major, if not decisive, impact on the rest of the world. The
Philippines, with more than enough historical, economic, political and
social ties with its former colonizer, is no exception.
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In a personal way and also within the context of state affairs,
Filipinos will be affected. For one, there are already at least 3.4
million Filipino-Americans or 1.1 percent of the U.S. population, making
them the second largest Asian minority group.
These Fil-Ams
also remits to the Philippines a substantial percentage of their income,
providing a major source of spending money to their families, and
incidentally fuelling a large Philippine service business sector and
real estate boom, and cushioning the effects of the global financial
crisis.
Other major economic ties are the rapidly developing
business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, tourism, electronics, and
the other businesses in the Philippines that cater to the US market or
trade.
In terms of political ties, the US and Philippine
governments have always been close to each other whether a Republican or
Democrat is at the helm of the former. Or, for that matter, whoever is
at the head of the Philippine government. American support or approval,
among the political elite, is still a much-sought-after political
capital, though not as strong as four decades ago.
In the present
border dispute with China, the U.S. stance of support for an ally and
its own power projection in the Southeast Asian region enjoys the
popular approval of many Filipinos and is greatly appreciated by the
Aquino government. After all, it allows for elbow room for negotiating
with China.
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Culturally, many Filipinos consider the country,
wistfully it seems, as a special friend of the United States and
therefore allow wide latitude for the latter’s behavior in the country.
The American Dream is still a relevant aspiration for many Filipinos
despite the nationalistic pride that remain at the core of its national
identity.
Within the context of a historically bipartisan foreign
policy regarding Philippines by the Democrats and the Republicans,
there is not much change that the U.S. presidential election outcome
will have on the country. The winning president will still pursue
American global interests based on its superpower status and its
appraisal of its own interests in the country and the Southeast Asia
region.
However, there will be changes in the nuances of this
policy. An expected major change if the Republicans win is the return to
a more aggressive stance akin to the Bush doctrine of preemptive
strikes against potential enemies and promoting democratic regime
change. The present Obama stress on diplomacy and building coalitions
will be put on the back-burner.
The Philippine government and the
ordinary Filipino will have to respond to the nuances and act
accordingly from the point of view of the country’s interests. Will the
Aquino government do it?
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