By Farah G. Decano

 

WHENEVER a wound gets swollen, it simply means that the affected body part is on its way to healing. This inflammatory stage is a protective process.  However, swelling is not always good.  It can also manifest an infection, a worsening condition.

It is interesting to note that the Filipino translation of swollen is maga. And maga nowadays has a different global meaning.  It is the acronym of President Donald Trump’s battlecry, “Make America Great Again.”  The international community is now at a standstill whether Trump’s MAGA direction is towards healing of America or towards its denigration.

Just six weeks into his second term of office, President Trump has signed and announced several controversial executive orders and policy amendments. As if his positions on diversity, equality, and inclusivity (DEI), transgender rights, and illegal immigration were not shocking enough, he caused tremors around the world when he declared the United States’ withdrawal of membership from the Paris Climate Change Agreement, eliminated 90% of foreign aid through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), imposed tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, and was recently perceived as having bullied President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Trolls for and against President Trump are very busy convincing the group of nations to their side.  Those who do not agree with the US President’s internal courses of action call his slogan, “Make America Racist Again” or “Make America White Again,” while those who oppose his global strategies say that his mantra is actually, “Make Russia Great Again.”

Like any country that has its own agenda to pursue, the Philippines must not dare to speak too soon whether Trump’s MAGA  is a cure or an infection.  I surmise that President Ferdinand Marcos would rather appeal to the US President rather than publicly express any disagreement if the latter makes any pronouncement that will negatively impact our country.  Mr. Marcos Jr. may find it imprudent to join Canada and Greenland in criticizing the present US administration.  After all, they are not vulnerable to any foreign invasion.  The Philippines is.

As a matter of strategy, we must not dare lose an ally when China is in our midst and has been creeping slowly into our sovereign territory.   So far, the Philippines is still getting a special treatment because a portion of the foreign military support for the Philippines is not among those “frozen” by the US.

Let me clarify.  I cringe at the idea of kowtowing to a superpower.  On a personal level, sycophancy was never my bag of chips.  I refuse to validate an egoistic leader’s claim to fame if I think it is undeserved.   However, in world politics, we just have to accept that the saying “might is right” still holds true.   Obedience to international laws is voluntary among states.  Compliance to world order is enforced only through retaliatory policies such as trade barriers, embargos, and war; and the systems of rewards and incentives such as foreign aid, loan, and other support enticements

While we have won the arbitral award against China in 2016 as regards the West Philippine Sea issue, victory remains on paper unless the Asian giant is forced to comply with the ruling.   The Philippines hopes to gain more foreign support in pressuring China to abide by the decision.

There are a few superpowers.  The Filipinos must identify which of these global forces can further our country’s interests.  The Dutertes are for China while the Marcoses are for the US.  Both foreign countries have their selfish agenda.  Which country has interests that the Philippine is most aligned with?

I hope all our leaders and their respective minions are in unison in making our country great as well.  If that happens, what a swell nation the Philippines would be.

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