Invasion by Proxy

First it was granted autonomy, now its on the verge of independence. Does the government really know what they’re doing or is this just the beginning of another sell-out of a Philippine territory?

You may have heard the fuzz about the signing of the Malaysian-brokered peace deal between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. What is really the deal here? Well, basically it would give the Moros somewhat their own country within the Philippines. They would be given power greater than simple autonomy. The deal happens to give the Moros almost total control of the resources found in the area and because they have control of the resources they could use it any way they want, even signing deals with other countries. This is where the “Invasion by Proxy” theory comes in, the one who brokered the peace deal, Malaysia, could have written off the idea of this power in the first place and realized that they could convince the Moros to give them access to the resources off Mindanao. With Mindanao’s precious ores and oil, it is a goldmine in the eyes of Malaysia.

What bothers me is the lack of transparency about the deal. Foreign countries mediating the deal along with Malaysia such as the United States, Germany, Canada know the details of this deal whereas us Filipinos, the ones who are directly affected by this deal, don’t know the details ourselves. Another thing is that the government seems like they actually support this deal. This is where the “sell-out” theory comes in. Could it be that they were actually promised a high incentive for them to accept the deal? Sell-out theories go all the way back during the Marcos-era. Where the government allegedly sold Southwest Cay island to Vietnam. And what about Sabah? How could the government not make a big deal on the recent mass deportation of Filipinos living in Sabah when the island is technically ours? The Malaysian government is merely leasing the island for a price, a price paid to the Sultan of Sulu annually. Since the Malaysians are mere lodgers shouldn’t the landowners get the higher priority in the island? We have lost Southwest Cay, we have lost Sabah and now we’re losing over 2/3 of the Mindanao area? I don’t know about you, but as for me I’m concerned about this issue. If the government continues selling our territory and if we get used to sitting down and doing nothing then believe me, there will be a time when only Manila will be left in Philippine control.

It is said that we Filipinos are the only ones who can defend the country, but only those who truly love their country are the only ones that can save it. We are divided by our indifferences, by our unwillingness to accept change, by our selfishness and greed. Our leaders are making a big sin, a big mistake when they caused this to happen, but us Filipinos would be making a bigger mistake when we allow this to happen.