Our smiling coast guard

DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel

6/5/2013

Daily Tribune

Our May 20 column, "Strike three: Noy's out," dwelt on the incidents involving the Philippines that have roiled the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The latest of these was, of course, the Balintang mishap where a Taiwanese fisherman was killed by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

In the ensuing tit-for-tat of charges, the PCG claimed it had a video that would vindicate it. That video, I wrote, should have been released to the public posthaste so as to spare all the great acrimony in the quest to find a quick resolution to the conflict. To this day, the public is still kept in the dark even as the said video has been turned over to Taiwanese authorities for examination.

Not surprisingly, leaks of what the Taiwanese saw later surfaced, with reports saying that the PCG gunmen were gleefully laughing while firing at the Taiwanese fishing boat. The PCG, as expected, defended itself a day later. Strangely, though, it did so only by saying that "smiling" is not laughing--as if that would mitigate the appalling implications of its alleged trigger-happiness.

Taiwan and RP's "parallel investigations" may be holding off the video showing for now; but the longer it is kept from the public, the more damage it does. In defending what certain people believe is our coastal protection force's action, answering an eye-for-an-eye Taiwanese vituperations, such as when the flag burning in Taiwan was answered by retired police super-patriot Abner Afuang's Taiwanese flag burning in Manila, flag-waving has now deteriorated into xenophobia.

On Philippine TV discussions, even the brightest Filipino analysts fall into chauvinism in describing Taiwan as a "puny island" while claiming that the PCG only grazed the fishing boat, despite pictures clearly showing dozens of puncture holes (and despite the fact that one fisherman was indeed killed).

The morning of the report of the PCG commander's hair-splitting between "smiling" and "laughing," my youngest son, the journalist, chuckled, "As if 'smiling' would make a difference." I lamented the embarrassment Filipinos will face once the video that portrays the PCG treating the deadly business of strafing a fishing boat with frivolity is finally shown to one and all.

I fault many of our countrymen for using simplistic patriotism to deliberately blind themselves to the facts of the case--that a Taiwanese fisherman was killed; that there were more than enough bullets fired and holes left as evidence; and that there is incoherence in the PCG's story, enough to question its version of events. For many, it is a case of "My country right or wrong."

"But shouldn't that be the case?" my son retorted. His mother almost chimed in to agree but held her tongue probably after a quick second thought. I certainly made myself very clear: That never should the concept of "country" be above what is morally correct--for nations have a greater duty. That greater duty is to human civilization built stone by stone on truth and justice. How else does civilization improve itself?

The reason the US of A is today in irredeemable socio-economic-political crisis is because it has lost its moral moorings after getting intoxicated with unlimited power upon achieving victory in the Cold War. Thus, to maintain its power, the US persecutes men of conscience, such as Iraq whistleblower Sgt. Bradley Manning and info freedom champions like Julian Assange; tortures prisoners without being held by any charge in Gitmo; and kills innocents all over with its drones.

While the US is going to the dogs, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) nation-states are setting the moral standard of multipolarism, non-aggression, and peaceful coexistence. They are also setting up the multibillion financial BRICS bank to aid developing nations while leading the struggle to neutralize US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) aggression.

BRICS countries are vastly improving the lives of their citizens while US and Western societies crumble, with their people impoverished as their ruling classes prosper like never before in history.

The Philippines as a US appendage will only suffer worse social crises and collapse, as its elite amasses fortunes at the expense of the nation's future. Taiwan, for all its faults, takes care of its people. Thus, the life of a single, aging fisherman is still valuable to its leaders.

In the Philippines today, children abandoned by their mothers (and their government) graze the streets with empty stomachs--this, in a nation of 20 million hungry people where police kill police, students commit suicide for lack of tuition, and the ruling elite constantly lie to the people. You'll find hardly any of these in Taiwan.

And as Taiwanese fishermen work hard fishing in overlapping RP-Taiwan economic zones, Filipino fishermen don't fish there as their country's capitalists and government do nothing to provide financing.

Many things are terribly wrong in Philippine society---the reason the country relies on Taiwan for jobs for 89,000 Filipinos.

So let's stop blaming others. Let's seriously look at the truths about our country. For starters, here's one truth we should face squarely: Some PCG bosses are paid P200,000 per Taiwanese fishing boat for the right to fish on the Balintang Channel. Such deals are made in a small hotel along Roxas Blvd. convenient for the PCG's top brass. Clearly, it may no longer be easy to smile after this.

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