Let me I make a suggestion to improve Jim Gomez's informative
Associated Press report from the Philippines (7/16/02)? The headline
refers to "English teachers" promoting values in the Philippines.
Wouldn't Ambassador calls for teachers to join new pacification team
be a better headline? Gomez summarizes U.S. Ambassador Francis
Ricciardone's speech to the Foreign Correspondents Association of
the Philippines. And that speech reflects naivete about
U.S.-Philippines relations.
During the
Philippine-American War, the U.S. overthrew Asia's first
constitutional republic. As part of the pacification effort,
teachers were exported to the Philippines 101 years ago. Before and
after World War II, the U.S. continued selectively to oppose
democratic forces in its former colony. For example, U.S. Presidents
Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan supported martial law dictator
Ferdinand Marcos. Undeterred, Filipinos brought a sudden end to
Marcos's twenty-year presidency in 1986.
Not
surprisingly, U.S. support for the dictatorship was on the minds of
Filipinos as they wrote a more democratic constitution that year.
But an intelligence failure emerged in declassified U.S. Embassy
Political Section reports from Manila. The diplomats expressed
"surprise" at how many noncommunists among the Constitutional
Commissioners of the Philippines opposed foreign military bases. Yet
by an 80% "Yes" vote, Filipinos ratified the new constitution in
1987.
According
to Amb. Ricciardone, American promotion of English-language teaching
in the Philippines "is very, very important to promoting and
strengthening democracy and defeating the forces of radicalism." And
the subheadline claims that this "Move would promote values in the
Philippines". Someone might brief the diplomat to spare him
future embarrassment. As reflected in Filipino language and daily
life, Filipino culture emphasizes family values and other social
values. These values emphasize mutual respect, loyalty, sharing,
persistence in the face of disaster, and helping out more
unfortunate members in the community.
