The busy and demanding life of
mankind tends to forget some aspects why everyone is still existing. Their
synergetic relationship with their environment is becoming far away beyond
their consideration. Life itself is a competition after all. Everyone is
competing for their survival as to who is stronger, who is wiser or who is more
powerful. This is a Jurassic battle of egos that most likely will not vanish in
any period of time.
Our history alone is rich with these
fascinating stories of battles. But what does our history really taught us? Is
it the lesson on those bloody fights or the true wisdom of war that they wanted
to impart in our generation?
Our united sovereignty was being
challenged several times by different disputes as to the validity or
constitutionality of a law, statute or treaties. One recent is the EDCA or Enhance
Defense Cooperation Agreement that is envisioned to advance the implementation
of the PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty. It is designed to promote between the Philippines
and the United States the following: Interoperability, Capacity building
towards AFP modernization, Strengthening AFP for external defense, Maritime
Security, Maritime Domain Awareness, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response.
These will take place in designated areas within a few AFP bases to be agreed
upon by both parties.[1]
We may have previous experiences
with our military agreements with the United States. Some may not be just and
rightful to our fellow Filipinos. But it
was not the lapse of the agreement itself. Those were individual actions of the
people. We should not pigeonhole this agreement as to its past.
Steven Covey said in one of his
books that people must be “proactive and synergetic” to become highly effective.
[2] People must
think first according to the best of his knowledge before reacting to any stimuli.
We must always remember that a coin is not one sided. There is always a tail in
its head.
For me, it is not the intention
of this treaty to repeat the unjust encounters on our past agreements. We must
not be that stringent to challenge the EDCA`s validity or constitutionality. Let
us be more rigid on its pious execution towards the establishment of our
foreign relations and to foster a just and sustainable international order
where the rights and responsibilities of our nation and people are upheld,
especially the fundamental rights of every human being.
My candor dictates, we are still
not self-reliant when it comes to our advancement especially in the field of
our National Defense. We are in sincere need of help. Let us set aside the
thought of being colonized or being dictated by a foreign country. Instead, let
us look at the mutual benefits this agreement can give to us.
Generally, coins are being counted
based on its value and not on its worth. For me, the wisdom of our history is
that we must learn to live the other way around.
[1] Agreement between
the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the United States of
America on Enhanced Defense Cooperation
[2] 7
Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey
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