JUST ANOTHER DAY

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BY LUIS BUENAFLOR JR.
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Little brown Americans

This is not America,
A little piece of you
The little peace in me
Will die [This is not a miracle]
For this is not America

Blossom fails to bloom
This season
Promise not to stare
Too long [This is not America]
For this is not the miracle
— “This Is Not America” David Bowie and Pat Metheny

It’s not about choosing between Spam and Ma-Ling. It has always been about Adobo and Adobo alone and may I add, laswa.
This is the very essence of President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement that the Philippines is separating from the United States of America. This pivot to China and Russia is not a severance of ties but a separation of foreign policy. As President Rodrigo Duterte said, “the United States has been a father to us for generations, now the son has grown up and it is time to live in his own house.”
When President Duterte said that, we know he is trying to be polite and kind to the United States as this “separation” is the turning point after centuries of exploitation, disrespect and abuse by our “father.” The son has come of age and is telling his father, “I am an adult, please treat me as such.”
We have been a colony of the United States of America for 50 years and a neo-colony until President Rodrigo Duterte stood up and said enough is enough; we are an independent and sovereign nation and not a vassal of America.
It is common knowledge in international relations and diplomatic circle that whenever a vote is taken at the United Nations and the United States votes “yes”, the Philippines is automatically counted as a “yes” vote without even bothering to ask our United Nations Ambassador what our vote is.
We are a joke at the United Nations. Our first United Nations ambassador, Carlos P. Romulo who served as secretary general of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, had been called a lackey of the United States and fancied himself as a “little brown American.”
The United States financially supports the United Nations and its headquarters are in New York; why do you think Romulo became secretary general in the first place?
During World War II, when Japan invaded the Philippines, the United States did not come back and retook the Philippines because it loved the “little brown Americans” and wanted to save them from Japan; they were just taking back their colony.
“I shall return” was just a PR stunt.
The natives of these islands are so enamored with the Americans and being American that this is the only country where the number one ambition of its citizens is a “green card.” It is also the only country where the number one sports is basketball and the dream of every aspiring Pinoy basketball player is to fly like Michael Jordan and dunk the ball. Too bad the average height in these islands for men is 5 feet and 5 inches – which makes it almost impossible to play “above the rim.” And because of this pathetic desire to be fair-skinned and blond like Jennifer Lawrence or Taylor Swift, the cosmetic companies selling “skin whiteners’ and “hair dyes” have been making huge profits in the Philippines.
So is this a mutual love affair or a one way street? Let’s check out how much in aid does the United States of America love the Philippines? According to www.devex.com here is a summary of the financial commitments of the top 10 donors assisting the Philippines:
1. Japan – $2.66 billion
2. China – $1.16 billion
3. World Bank – $950 million
4. Asian Development Bank – $667 million
5. United States of America – $186 million
6. Global Fund – $160,138,360 million
7. Australia – $123.1 million
8. European Union – $96 million
9. Canada -$25, 7 million
10. Republic of Korea – $20 million.
It turns out that Japan loves us more with China next. The much beloved United States of America is a far 5th place. What does this mean? Simple really, we are not number one to the Americans.
It looks like a one-sided love affair. So really, what is wrong if we get friendlier with China? We all have Chinese blood in our veins although some a bit more while only a small percentage of Filipinos have American blood.
Everything from mobile phones to Nikes are all made in China, even that all-American Sperry Topsider is made in China and the clincher is the great United States of America owes China $1.85 trillion.
And Russia is also looking to be barkada with us. I’m thinking Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova. I’d pick those two any day over Hillary Clinton./PN
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