IN AN OPEN RELATIONSHIP: PHILIPPINE FOREIGN POLICY AND RELATIONS

         The power and authority to administer international and foreign relations is vested upon by the Constitution to the country’s president in cooperation and coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The secretary of DFA is appointed by the President in his full discretion. Currently, the Philippines has close relationships with developing Asian countries, South East Asian nations, and of course the United States. Philippine foreign policy has evolved in time from the country’s independence in 1946, the Martial Law era in 1972, the People Power Revolution in 1986, the closure of the US bases in 1991, and the Asian Currency crisis in 1998. It is important to know these antecedents in order to come up with an overview of Philippine international relations and to analyze the country’s future foreign policy.

            Martin Luther King, Jr. once said and to quote him “Freedom is not voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”. Many critics say that the Philippine independence was “given” to us by our colonizers and that we owe our freedom to them but history tells us that Filipinos have shed blood and tears to gain back the freedom we naturally have. The Philippine’s exposure to foreign countries started from trade with the Malays and the Chinese during the pre-colonial period. In fact, the country has a good international and trade relations with its neighboring Asian countries. Until the Spaniards came to conquer our beloved Pearl of the Orient that we forgot the independence we once enjoyed. Over 300 years of Spanish colonization changed our very hearts and culture and one of the most important marks of this change is our Catholic faith. The Philippines was sold to the United States by Spain in the Treaty of Paris. The US got the Philippines through Benevolent Assimilation which in turn resulted into conflicts. Then there came the Japanese which the Filipinos resisted that finally in 1946, after four centuries, our independence is once again in our hands. But is it really absolute?

            In the administration of former president Carlos P. Garcia, he promoted the “Filipino First” policy wherein economically speaking, Filipinos should be encouraged to buy and sell our locally produced goods. The policy led to a somewhat closed market until the older Macapagal re-opened once again the gates of the Philippine economy to the free market of the world. In the Marcos regime, history showed us the close diplomatic relations with the international community that the Marcos couple established. They had grand parties inviting various foreign ambassadors to establish close ties with the Philippine government. In 1986, the Marcos regime ended and democracy has been restored from the chains of Marcos’ dictatorship. Obviously, Mrs. Aquino promoted democratic relationships with other Asian countries especially those who are also in the pursuit of promoting democracy.

These antecedents led to the current state of the Philippines’ foreign. According to an article entitled Roots of Philippine Policy written by Ramon Magsaysay which is published by the Council on Foreign Relations in their October 1956 issue, Philippine foreign policy is moved by three considerations: 1. National Security, 2. Economic Stability, 3. Political and Cultural relations with the free world. Just like the three great branches of the government, these three considerations are co-equal and have the same importance. The relationship of the Philippines and the United States help in achieving these three focuses. The close relationship can be attributed to the same beliefs and principles that both countries have in view of international policy. The Philippines is considered also one of the oldest allies of the US and it is evident in our support to the US endeavors such as the war in Vietnam and in Iraq where we sent troops in aid of the US forces.

In international organizations, the Philippines is also one of the initiators in peace relations and international community formations. The Philippines is a founding member of the United Nations, ASEAN, and the SEATCO. In pursuit of international relations stability, indeed the Philippines plays a big role which can be rooted to the history of our foreign relation during the colonial period. Though much has been affected in our culture by the colonizers, our experience in this time of our struggle for coping up with foreign forces and claim of independence honed the country’s ability to create good diplomatic relations with other nations. From US centered relation, the Philippines is now focused on open relationship with Asian nations.

According to an article published online by Princeton.edu, currently the Philippines is a member of various international organizations such as the United Nations, International Labor Organization, UNESCO, World Health Organization, ASEAN, Asian Summit, and World Trade Organization. In view of these memberships, it can be said that the Philippines gives equal priority to the three considerations of its foreign policy. It can now be affirmed that the country is in its way toward a provident member of the international community and on its way to a great name in the world.