When I was in my elementary years, my teacher in elementary required us to read our history books. Many would not like the subject, but I do. What is good about reading our past is that we get to know our history and our caliber in the past. Let me just take you to history lane and let me discuss just few facts about the country and I will relate it to today's happenings.
After the second world war, the Philippines was finally free from the foreign invaders. Manila was spared since the governor that time declared Manila as an open city to all. In Asia, the Philippines was the richest country and that is another fact. Japan was still trying to recover from the atomic bomb that the USA dropped on their country. Because the Philippines was a rich country that time, many countries like to be an ally to the Philippines, including the USA. The Philippines was the most powerful country in Asia. China was still struggling to find their equality, since they were still a communist country.
There were many infrastructures happening in the Philippines. It was like making Makati City right now, but it just happened before. The Kennon Road in Baguio City was not constructed by the hardworking hands Filipinos but the Japanese, as they completed the road. Many foreigners helped build that road and many died for that road due to malaria.
In other words, the Philippines was like Great Britain in Europe and USA in the Americas. No country would dare try to engage the Philippines because we were considered a super power. We had allies around the world, we have the richest natural resources deposit and the people was the biggest treasure of all. We were treated special once a Filipino visits a country. The Philippine peso was like 4:1 to a dollar.
As I said, this is just history. Events that happened before. Now, is quite different from before. We are no longer a strong country, whose neighboring countries feared the most. We are in fact rated as one of the most corrupt country in the world. Our allies before are no longer considering us an ally but just a friend country. Where are our allies? I would say, they are gone because we are no longer strong like before. In Asia, Japan and China are the super powers. The Philippines, once a rich country, is now in deep shit. It is painful to say but that is true.
We cannot protect our own domain by foreign invaders. The Scarborough Shoal is a clear evidence that China is bullying the country. It is our land and our nation that is being stepped on here. We cannot engage China by force because we all know that we don't have the military strength to fight a giant. But we have one thing. We must seek foreign help here. The United Nations is a good venue to start. The president should not just sit down and see a land being grabbed from his sight.
