Pangan: Alarming and scary

THE creeping expansion of China into our so-called territory may cause extreme alarm to the citizens of the Republic of the Philippines.

Their apprehension may escalate, depending on the speed the present administration dispenses favors to China and any other foreign country.

His (President Duterte) recent pronouncements do not augur well for the country: asserting PH sovereignty will mean trouble and that the Philippines does not have the military muscle to assert its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.

What?? Does this mean the President who posed as a strongman with dirty mouth would surrender our territories and sovereignty without a fight? Nasaan ang kanyang yabang at tapang? O, come on, Mr. President! We can file several strongly-worded diplomatic protests. And as a lawyer and former prosecutor you know damn well the actuations of China are not right under our laws and that of international laws and conventions.

Surrender the Philippines, the President would like it to be.

Aaagh! Ouch!!

It is time now for the critics and detractors of President Duterte to put him to task, that is, oppose all what China does in the disputed West Phillppine Sea.

China, as always, is active and proactive and has in fact built permanent structures on the islands it stole from us and continues to put bombers and missiles on the installations.

The Philippines like a helpless, orphaned child, just watched idly by and obviously cannot do anything except cry vainly!

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At the outset, we were heartened to have elected a chief executive with "balls" so to speak, and large ones indeed.

The creeping militarization of China-claimed islands is causing anxiety to other claimants. Even the United States frowned on the show of military might by China and elicited statements of protest from the world superpower.

Two prominent columnists wrote their respective suggestions and comments on the default of our former possessions in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea.

Lawyer Jose Lina of the Manila Bulletin spoke thus: Indeed our glorious past-with our heroes resisting foreign invaders who trampled our sacred shores-is a shining testament to the courage and temerity of Filipinos to defend and protest what is rightfully ours.

John Nery of the Philippine Daily Inquirer digressed: Beijing would like Manila to believe that only one alternative to the Chinese position exists and that is war. Tragically, the President has completely embraced this wrong-headed, and indeed unpatriotic, view. Hay!!