TWO influential leaders of the Filipino-Chinese community are calling for a halt to the Philippines’s escalating tensions with China following the war of words between the United States and China on one hand, and the Philippines and its giant neighbor on the other. They argue that it will not only have an adverse effect on their day-to-day lives but also hinder the country’s growth.
“Ang problema maaari lang ma-resolve kung mag-uusap ’yung dalawang nag-aaway [The problem can only be resolved if the two parties who are fighting will talk to each other]. We can agree to disagree, [or] if we cannot agree or disagree, we can put that aside—status quo,” Dr. Cecilio K. Pedro, president of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII), told the BusinessMirror in an interview.
“Let’s move forward to those we can agree on. If we want to talk about it, fine. Hanggang usap lang. Huwag magbibitaw ng salita na nakakasakit. Anong mangyayari sa atin kung mag-aaway tayo? Kung mag-aaway, giyera na ’yun [Let’s not utter words that will hurt. What will happen if we fight? If we fight it could be war]. Nobody wants war, neither China nor the Philippines,” he said.
Pedro said he agreed to candidly talk on the issue, having been surprised that even the presence of Chinese students in Cagayan province, which he said was “supposed to be a non-issue,” sparked a geopolitical controversy following the allegations that they could be “spies.”
“We need these friends to help each other because we are still a developing country. The key here is we must move forward faster than our neighbors,” according to Pedro, who coined the “Dugong Tsino, Pusong Pinoy” when the FFCCCII celebrated its 70th anniversary in March.
“Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, kailangan natin ng mga kaibigan, ’di kaaway [for the country to progress, we need friends, not enemies],” he asserted.
He was apparently reacting to the legislative probe on the alleged Chinese influx in the region after Cagayan Rep. Joseph Lara filed House Resolution No. 1666, seeking an inquiry in aid of legislation on the alleged surge of Chinese students enrolling in various higher education institutions in Cagayan. The investigation is necessary, said the lawmaker and other like-minded colleagues in Congress, to ensure national security amid the prevailing tension in the West Philippine Sea.
It was previously reported that 4,600 Chinese nationals have been recorded to be living in Cagayan Area, located at the northern tip of Luzon facing Taiwan.
Lara and Faustino Dy of Isabela’s Sixth District alleged some of these foreigners had been involved in “spurious schemes.”
The controversy broke just as joint Balikatan military exercises involving Manila and Washington were taking place in the province, located at the northern tip of the main island of Luzon facing Taiwan, which Beijing views as part of its territory. China has vowed to eventually “unify” Taiwan, officially known as Republic of China, with the mainland using force if necessary.
US universities, too
According to Pedro, even the Americans have kept on luring Chinese nationals to enroll at Harvard and other prestigious US universities “so that they would generate more funds.”
“’Pag umalis ’yung mga foreign students, babagsak sila [If these foreign students leave, they will collapse]. The normal American students must borrow money from the universities. These foreign students, they bring dollars to study.”
Pedro thinks the Philippines, which is an English-speaking country, should attract them to come since the price of education here “is only a fraction,” compared to the United States and Europe.
Pedro said he learned that China had already sent 32,000 students to Thailand and another 21,000 students to Malaysia, just to put emphasis on the English language in their education.
Chilling reality
Ironically, it was in Cagayan where the provincial governor opposed the expansion of the RP-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) in two sites within the province. Gov. Manuel Mamba and Tuguegarao City Mayor Maila Rosario-Que later belied the allegations raised by the two lawmakers.
Que pointed out that only 486 foreign students, including Chinese nationals, were enrolled at St. Paul University in Tuguegarao, the only educational institution authorized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Bureau of Immigration to accept foreign students.
“Majority are masteral and PhD students who do not stay in school full-time but come to the Philippines only to meet advisers to present research or defend [their] thesis,” according to Teresita Ang See, a civic leader who cofounded Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, a movement working towards full integration of the Chinese Filipino community.
“It’s so unfair. Nagkakalat kayo ng ganyan [You are spreading those things], but how about those students who are now so scared [of] the repercussions against them?” she said.
Ang See, in an interview, said she believed there is a “concerted effort” to ignite geopolitical tensions when there are more pressing concerns like the Chinese Pogo (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) and illegal gambling. “Nothing is being done on this kasi pinagkakakitaan nila [because they’re earning from them],” she said.
She suggested that instead of fanning “fake news,” authorities should question the Bureau of Immigration and the Department of Foreign Affairs if there were indeed spies among the foreign students since they participated in processing their entry into the country.
Apart from these two, the agencies mandated under the Joint Memorandum Order No. 1 Series of 2017 to ensure that all foreign students pass through the processes before entering the country are CHED, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“To spread that kind of Sinophobia at this point is very frightening and very disturbing,” she warned.
In her bid to demand accountability from agencies instead of fanning speculative reports, Ang See has an ally in Sen. Chiz Escudero. Earlier this week, he called upon the Bureau of Immigration to intensify its scrutiny and provide evidence on allegations that some of them may be acting as spies.
Until proven otherwise, the accusations against these Chinese nationals remain baseless, unfair and should not cause undue alarm, even in the light of the ongoing territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea, Escudero said in a media interview on Thursday.
The veteran legislator stressed that in the event of a Senate investigation, the BI should be the first agency summoned.
The BI officials’ role, he said, would be to shed light on the matter and ascertain whether any lapses have occurred in fulfilling their responsibilities.
“If there’s really doubt that they are spies, why didn’t the Bureau of Immigration do their job? That’s just like the problem with Pogo. They keep complaining because there are so many Chinese in Pogo. But how did they enter the country? Why did BI allow them entry and, if ever, who might have profited from that?” he said, speaking partly in Filipino.
Delicate tightrope
FOR his part, FFCCCII’s Pedro explained, “Sinophobia is when you’re afraid or you are angry with anything coming from China. That word in itself is a misunderstanding. We have so many things from China.”
He continued: “We are concerned since this is becoming to be anti-China, and not necessarily anti-Chinese Filipino [issue] because we have been here for over a thousand years.”
Like many Chinese Filipinos, Pedro said he considers China as “my motherland…. It’s in my blood, but the Philippines is my fatherland because I was born here.”
According to the FFCCCII president, while there are many approaches to address this particular issue, the “mindset of the people right now is that anything from China is not good.”
“We have to change that concern right now,” he said, “if we are to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.” China, he said, has become the “manufacturing outlet of the world.”
“We’re talking of $40 billion worth of business [with China], which is more than two trillion pesos. And you want to compromise these two trillion pesos worth of business with our import and export. It’s…unthinkable,” the FFCCCII president said.