by Poimen Agnila || Cartoon by Zenas Agnila

The Filipinos deserve more than a government that is unwilling to use its voice for the sake of those who cannot speak for themselves. 

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte’s “no comment” remark on China’s relentless aggression towards the country over the West Philippine Sea has drawn flak in various social media circles, and not without good cause. Recent cases of hostility, such as a Chinese Coast Guard vessel’s blasting of water cannons at the Philippine resupply boat Unaizah May 4 on March 23, have shed an important light on China’s seemingly never-ending obsession with bullying smaller countries into submission. This bullying, coupled with the VP’s lack of conviction on the matter, is a recipe that spells disaster for our years-long fight against Chinese claims over the West Philippine Sea and unjust international territorial control in general.

While this administration has had some great lapses in judgment in their public statements over the years, somehow, what makes me more disappointed than tone-deaf official statements addressing a current issue is silence. 

As a writer, one of the first things instilled in us by the world is that our words carry power. We are told that the change we will see in society is directly proportional to the volume by which we are willing to advocate for it. Silence, when wielded for the benefit of the status quo, is harmful. 

The Philippines would not have gained independence from the Spanish had Dr. Jose Rizal chosen to take a neutral stance on their abuses. The colonizers would not have been driven out if it weren’t for the revolutionaries who fought to make their voices heard. We are not where we are as a democratic country today because our ancestors had “no comment”. Words, especially critical ones, are the reason why history is referred to in writing metaphors. 

When all we get from a government official as influential as the Vice President on a topic as important as the West Philippine Sea is silence, we may have to seriously start rethinking the parameters by which we vote for national leaders. It is easy to speak up for a greeting on China’s 73rd National Day (although props for doing it in Mandarin), after all, you have nothing to lose. What’s difficult but ultimately more leader-like is condemning abuses by a powerful country that has repeatedly belittled the Filipinos. Our countrymen, especially those rendered vulnerable by their line of work, deserve more than to be treated as something too risky or insignificant to talk about.

In a time where our silence is the enemy’s weapon, freedom and oppression are only words apart. The difference between a truly liberated country and one that remains tyrannized is leaders who can speak up and stand with their countrymen when it matters the most.