Gone and Forgotten

During the time of then President Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippines was one of the most powerful countries in Asia in terms of military power. The Philippines was looked up to as one of the countries in Asia which could render military assistance to its neighbor countries when needed. In short the Philippines had the adequate and necessary military forces to defend itself against the intruders. But that was before. The truth is, it is now part of the Philippine history. The glorious days of Philippine military are now gone and forgotten. Perhaps, it is meant to happen.
Here comes the Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The purpose of EDCA is to promote the maritime security, strengthening AFP for external defense, humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), maritime domain awareness, and modernization of AFP. Maybe EDCA is the missing ingredient the Armed Forces have been hoping for for decades now. The Philippines, obviously, does not have the sufficient military power to defend itself against the countries which have the might not only to swipe out the Philippine military forces but to invade the latter as well. But with EDCA, the Philippines will be able once again to go back to its original form. But it will surely take a lot of time. Maybe years, decades, or maybe forever. It depends on how the Philippine Government will treat this opportunity.  
All of us or perhaps some of us know that the military strength of the United States is not eternal. Take note of the cliché “change is the only constant thing in this world”. Today might be the sweetest day of the American forces but tomorrow might be a different story. So while the military power of the U.S is still in its peak, the Philippines should take into account that nothing lasts forever. That time is of the essence right now.
Today our Armed Forces might be a laughingstock to other countries, but I’m pretty sure that it will not take long before the Philippines takes its reign again as one of  the most powerful countries in Asia.