By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
PASIG CITY – With the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the relations between the Philippines and China, the Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies (ACPSSI) on Friday (June 13) described the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte as a “proxy ploy” of the United States.
The ACPSSI also expressed its dismay over the alleged “proxy war” between the US and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr.
During the Media Forum, Herman “Ka Mentong” Tiu Laurel, President of ACPSSI, said that the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Philippines and China golden ties and cooperation transpired on June 9, 2025.
Laurel cited the Awardees of APCU (Association of Philippines China Union) such as former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, former Senator Nikki Coseteng, former President /Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, among others.
“The broken relations between China and the Philippines were created by external powers,” Laurel said. “The Preamble is the highest principle in the 1987 Philippine Constitution,” he added.
Laurel stressed that the assertion of Independence is binding on Section 18, Article 25 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
On the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, the Regime Change, Laurel said that Israel has already attacked Iran with massive “preemptive strikes”, which the United States also would like to happen in the Philippines to restore its nominal presence in Asia.
“It is very clear that China has an aggressive thrust only on the economy in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the Philippines,” Laurel said.
He cited the impeachment of then Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona as well as the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte for the “Regime Change” that would disqualify her to run in the 2028 presidential elections, which is part of the policy of “Pivot to Asia” of the US.
He also cited the regime change against then President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. as well as in many Latin-American countries.
Laurel mentioned the EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos, Sr. from presidency and brought him to Hawaii and catapulted Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco-Aquino to power backed by civilian-military support.
He also mentioned the impeachment of Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada and the “withdrawal of support’ of the AFP which resulted to another EDSA People Power that installed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency.
Likewise, the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, who was replaced by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Laurel said that Vice President Sara Duterte is next in line by succession or by election in 2028 and is known for being pro-China just like her father former President Duterte, who has not issued any statement against China.
The Vice President has been impeached by the House of Representatives on Feb. 5, 2025. The Senate Impeachment Court has ordered the House Prosecutors to certify that the Impeachment Complaint did not violate the one-year bar rule on the filing of an impeachment case and the commitment of the 20th Congress to pursue the Impeachment Complaint.
Ado Paglinawan, ACPSSI Vice President for Internal Affairs, said that the 50th “golden or broken” ties between the Philippines and China since 1966 leading to the movement of people from rural areas to the urban areas.
Paglinawan noted that in 1971, the United Nations (UN) recognized the People’s Republic of China (PROC) as the only legitimate China.
He cited that President Marcos, Jr. announced a “prospective paradigm shift” with the Philippine relations with China during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July last year.
A communique stated that there is only one China and Taiwan is just a province of the former.
Paglinawan slammed the behavior of Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro during the Singapore Shangri-La Dialogue where Teodoro scored as a “propaganda ploy” the question of a representative of China in the Dialogue.
He cited the “grounding” of BRP Sierra Madre that established military presence in the South China Sea, particularly in Ayungin Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), during the time of President Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada in 1999.
“In reality, it is only China which can police the 3.5-million-square-kilometer area of the South China Sea,” Paglinawan said.
He stressed that then Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario complicated the relations between the Philippines and China with the sovereignty and territorial claims based on the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). “The 2016 Arbitral rule may be ‘Gospel truth’ for the Philippines,” he said.
“The Arbitral Award was not fashioned for Filipinos. It was made for the narrative of the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
Paglinawan pointed out that the exploration of oil and gas is the root cause of the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. He served as a Filipino diplomat for seven years in Washington DC, United States.
He also cited that China offered to mine oil, gas and natural resources in the South China Sea with 60% of the proceeds going to the Philippines but was sabotaged by then Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy “Boy” Locsin during the time of then President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016-2022).
“The foreign paradigm policy shifted to America with the international rules-based order which China termed as ‘chop suey’,” Paglinawan said.
He expressed the hope that there would be “changes” in the “stupid laws” in the 20th Congress which will commence on July 1, 2025.
According to Pulse Asia Survey, Paglinawan said, only 5% of Filipinos support the foreign policy shift in support of America and against China.
Paglinawan noted that China made the vaccine against Covid-19, that is Sinovac, available on March 1, 2020.
He said that it was a “blessing in disguise” that Sinovac vaccine came first in the Philippines before the AstraZeneca vaccine came in.
The Covid-19 pandemic hit hard the Philippines on March 15, 2020 until December 2022.
Paglinawan stressed that many Filipino health workers did not want the Sinovac of China and they favored AstraZeneca of America.
He said that many Filipino nurses died because of AstraZeneca, adding that, 1.5 million Americans died due to Covid-19 despite the fact that the United States is the powerful nation on Earth.
Joaquin Sy, a Tsinoy, organizer of “Kaisa para sa Kaunlaran” expressed gratitude to the comprehensive and detailed presentation of Paglinawan in connection with the 50th Anniversary of the Philippines China relations.
Sy said that Filipino-Chinese were very happy for the naturalization of their citizenship as Filipinos.
He added that that’s the reason why Filipino-Chinese overwhelmingly supported Duterte when he ran for President in 2016.
Sy admitted that he was asked when will the Philippines-China relations normalize? He responded that it will be when the problem on Taiwan will be resolved with finality.“The genuine dispute is not that China trying to occupy the Spratly’s Islands in the South China Sea, which is on geography,” Sy said.“Indonesia has surpassed the Philippines in terms of the economy. The Philippines is just more economically developed with those of Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia,” he added.Sy cited that in Indonesia, 90 million children benefit from the feeding program supported by China. He noted that the Philippines has 22% foreign investment from China. “The Chinese is always saying that our economy is no. 1. It’s such an opportunity that we are losing,” Sy said. Sy noted that originally there were two versions of the Joint Communique of the Philippines and China. “One in Chinese language and the other one in Filipino language,” he said.He stressed that the “Kaisa para sa Kaunlaran” was formed to facilitate the integration of Filipino-Chinese into the mainstream of the Philippine society where they published the newspaper “Tulay”. The “Kaisa para sa Kaunlaran” was the first group of Filipino-Chinese who joined the parade in celebration of the Philippine Independence Day in the past and after five years, they were recognized in 1992. However, Sy said, it was in 1992-1995 when there were high incidents of kidnapping of Filipino-Chinese.Sy cited the “Gawad Balagtas” which was bestowed on Filipino writers, which for him, should also be awarded to Filipino-Chinese.During the time of then President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III, Sy worked for the financing of the construction of a flood-control project and a bridge and a feasibility study worth PHP1.5 billion from Marikina City to Laguna de Bay during the time of then DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson.Sy quoted the saying that the relations between the Philippines and China: “In 1,000 years, it’s just like a river that continuously flows out.” He had previously brokered for joint venture agreements between Filipino and Chinese companies in the Philippines.“POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) is like illegal drugs being used by greedy Chinese businessmen but not the Chinese government, to destroy the moral fiber of society, specifically in the mainland China,” Sy said. ###
