It’s been many weeks since the above subject was broached into the open.
Pres. Duterte himself publicly denounced it.
The expected brouhaha and discussion was not sustained (and almost naturally died) as the mainstream media did not completely bite even if it somehow became a hot topic for some time among coffee shop regulars.
For one thing, the oust-Duterte plot was floated to test the political market as well as to feel the pulse and reaction of the nation populated by a majority of Filipinos who support the incumbent administration.
Under the present circumstances when the national leadership is seen to be veering towards the “other side of the fence” (China and Russia) and there seems so much economic and political considerations at stake for the US to lose if it allows this to happen, there is great reason to believe that this sort of “belligerence” is ideally critical.
The South China Sea is a gateway so strategic for navigation and air space patrol that the US will not easily throw away what it has tremendously enjoyed in the past like nothing happened. Recall that during the Vietnam war, the American bases in Subic and Clark became the jumping off point of all US military strategies and counter-attacks.
The Philippines is a gem of a country, don’t forget this. It is almost like a paradise filled with rich natural resources that our neighbors are hankering to have.
Now that China has acquired remarkable military firepower, it is coveting the South China periphery to prevent, if not limit, the effectiveness of the US military might not only in South East Asia but perhaps in all of Asia, if not in the world.
We all know what the CIA is capable of doing. It sells war, foments revolutions disguised as “people power” and installs new regimes that become its puppet. It topples unfriendly governments and ousts presidents and prime ministers. It has the money to buy local political personalities salivating to get back into power.
Thus, when an ally turns away its back, a blueprint for his ouster is produced, studiously examined and then tested. If the initial test is media-positive, you can be sure that a phase-by-phase operation will proceed.
The media sector is usually the launching pad. When the initial black propaganda gets underway, you can be sure it is picked up by the mainstream broadsheets and broadcast organizations. Columnists and opinion writers and anchormen suddenly write and proclaim on the air James Bond-ish stories in sly efforts to magnify the sins of their target.
Now, we cannot avoid conjuring a conspiracy when opposition members fly out of the country one by one on pretenses that they have been invited by even suspicious, heretofore unheard of, people’s organizations and NGOs in the US.
Whether we like it or not, these “invites” legitimize to a certain degree their travels abroad and become a good cover.
The initial “resign Duterte” blast may not have resonated well but let this not give the current administration the veneer of confidence to ignore and shrug it like it were just a pesky fly.
At the rate, the media are presently nitpicking on every verbal misdemeanor of the President, there is a logical reason to believe that the seed of discontent has been planted by his enemies among the Filipino populace.
The CIA could be watering that seed. The demolition job has begun. Ergo, the threat is real. (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) God bless the Philippines!
