MANILA, Philippines - At his third SONA, President Benigno Aquino 3d asked China to respect Philippine sovereignty, even as he reasserted Panatag as ours: "Kung may pumasok sa inyong bakuran at sinabing sa kanya na ang kanyang kinatatayuan, papayag ba kayo? Hindi naman po yata tamang ipamigay na lang natin sa iba ang sadyang atin talaga."
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Pundits ask if government cannot remove the Homes Along Da Riles, how can it make the squatters at Panatag believe that the Philippine Navy can evict them from South China Sea?
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I didn't say that... only the non-yellow, non-adulating-negativist analysts whom the President took to task on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of TV Patrol.
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BTW, an e-mail correspondent said that the Panatag stand-off makes her love sub-continental Indians more... because although they have the waters named "Indian Ocean," they do not claim all islands and atolls within.
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Anway, P-Noy used a much more polite and calibrated language... in contrast to the jaw-jawing of his Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario who, in exasperation, pointed to "duplicity" and "intimidation" which remained unrecorded in the absence of an ASEAN joint communiqué.
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"Ang utos ng hari, hindi nababale." Still, the better part of valor for a hands-on President is to refrain from speaking on the Spratlys, lest he paint himself into a corner.
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Note that neither China's President Hu Jintao nor Premier Wen Jiabao have commented on the issue, but leave the foreign ministry spokesman to articulate China's official position.
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This gives the highest level wiggle room to intervene at a more opportune time.
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Sunshine Joe de Venecia also adds that if and when positions between government's harden, there's always the party-to-party fix. This is fine with the Chinese Communist party. But who can they turn to in the Philippines?
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Whoever thought of boycotting "Made in China" to curb bullying tactics underestimates the consumer appetite for "168."
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On the other hand, we just returned from Davao and know how China's invoking imaginary quarantine hurt our bananas.
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Meanwhile, Cambodian Ambassador H.E. Sereythonh Hoes invoked "diplomatic illness" and sent his deputy to receive the DFA's Note Verbale asking explanation of his article in a Philippine daily (not the Manila Bulletin) declaring "inflexible and non-negotiable position of two countries (Philippines and Vietnam) of ASEAN is dirty politics."
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Undersecretary for Political Affairs Erlinda Basilio is sending him a "Get Well Soon" card and inviting him to DFA when he can think on his feet.
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PA WEDER-WEDER LANG. Science Secretary Mario Montejo upholds PAGASA for informing the nation of tropical storm Gener via twitter and SMS. Why did we senior citizens and the poor farmers and fishermen not get wind of this storm from these non-traditional media?
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After the firing of former PAGASA Chief Dr. Prisco Nilo and the early resignation of Undersecretary Graciano Yumul, we inherit the whirlwind.
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"Speak softly, and carry a big stick" was the advice of US President Theodore Roosevelt (not Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the one who promised us to replace our every chicken in every pot).
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To begin somewhere, Sen. Ralph Recto calls for developing our small firearms industry to supply PNP and our services. (The Yakuzas favor the Danao cottage industry makers of fine side arms which have no serial numbers).
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In the late fifties, our science attaché Dr. Antonio de Leon introduced the "flying Tampipi," our first locally produced airplane. But Congress thought we should better depend on American surplus.
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BARKING UP WRONG TREE. CAAP Director General Gen. William Hotchkiss 3d corrected this space and said that the job of running and facilitating the airport services for the travelers belongs to the individual airport managers in NAIA 1, 2, and 3. FEEDBACK: jaz_aide@yahoo.com
