A foretaste of things to come

By: Artchil B. Fernandez

Du30 and some of his high ranking officials received a unique and extraordinary gift before 2019 closed.  The gift is a foretaste of things to come for them or what awaits them in the near future. To be given a taste of one’s future is indeed a rare gift.

But instead of rejoicing for the getting a special gift few people in this generation got, Du30 and other recipients are aghast and angry.  Judging by their reaction, it is safe to assume the gift ruined their holiday celebration.

The gift is courtesy of the United States (US) government. US President Donald Trump last week signed into law the 2020 national budget of the US government. The law contains provisions that specifically target Du30 and some high officials in his administration. And this is just the beginning.

In a move seldom done, the 2020 national budget of the US government has provisions that ban the entry to the US of Philippine officials involved in the “wrongful imprisonment” Sen. Leila de Lima. The provisions on Sen. de Lima were authored by US Democratic senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

A provision directs the US Secretary of State to implement subsection (c) of the budget law to “foreign government officials about whom the Secretary has credible information have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of (1) Mustafa Kassem, an American citizen imprisoned by the government of Egypt and whose health is failing; and (2) Senator Leila de Lima who was arrested in the Philippines in 2017…”

Subsection (c) refers to the 2016 Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, a law signed by US President Barrack Obama. The law imposes sanctions on those “responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country who seek to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials.” Denial or revocation of US visa, freezing of assets in the US are among the sanctions the law provides.

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee also unanimously approved Resolution 142 condemning the detention of Sen. de Lima which described her prisoner of conscience and called for her immediate release.  Aside from saying that Sen. de Lima is a “prisoner of conscience, detained solely on account of her political views and the legitimate exercise of her freedom of expression” the same resolution also called attention to “state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings by police and armed individuals as part of the ‘war on drugs.’”

Sen. Leila de Lima has already identified the government officials and private individuals involved in her unlawful detention.  Topping her list is Du30, former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, Solicitor General Jose Calida, PAO Chief Persida Acosta, Sandra Cam, Dante Jimenez, and former congressmen Reynaldo Umali and Rodolfo Farinas. Fake news queen Mocha Uson and fake news propagators Sass Rogando and RJ Nieto were also named by Sen. de Lima.

Du30 and his officials are furious with the action of the US government calling the move foreign intervention. In retaliation, Du30 also ordered the banning of Durbin and Leahy from entering the Philippines. According to Salvador Panelo, Du30’s spokesperson who is also in the list of Sen. de Lima, other retaliatory measures ordered by Du30 are: formally turning down Trump’s invitation for a Washington visit and requiring US citizens, including Filipino-Americans to get a visa before they are allowed to enter the country. At present US passport holders can visit and stay in the Philippines without a visa for 30 days.

The retaliatory measures ordered by Du30 are hilarious and once again display his scant or non-existent knowledge of international politics.  A third world country like the Philippines has little or no leverage against a superpower like the US in the international arena.  The banned US senators are not interested in coming to the Philippines so the move is empty.  There is no mad-rush among Americans to come to the Philippines and it is actually the Philippines that is enticing US citizens to come here.  Data show that nearly 13 percent of foreign arrivals in the country are Americans and 792,000 visited the country by October 2019.

Making it hard for these Americans to come through the imposition of a visa requirement will only turn-off potential American tourists and direct them to other parts of the world.  The loss in tourism will be considerable if the Philippines drive away American tourists.  How will Du30 make up for the loss of revenue and jobs in the tourism industry?

Requiring Filipino-Americans to secure a visa before they can visit their home country is a huge inconvenience to them. This is politically costly to Du30 for many of his fanatics are Filipinos residing in the US.

But this is just the beginning for Du30 and his cahoots. A parallel Magnitsky Act is currently being worked out in Canada and the European Union. Once these become real, the world will get smaller and smaller for Du30 and his minions.

It is also bad news for Du30 and company that the International Criminal Court (ICC) recently announced it will complete its preliminary examination on the Philippine situation by 2020. More likely the result will not be good for Du30 and the opening of a formal investigation on his bloody war on drugs is the most probable outcome.  At this stage of the investigation arrest warrants can be issued against Du30 and his co-accused.

Two-years and a half from now, Du30 and company will be out of power and current US action accurately point out their fate thereafter.  Du30 and his partners-in-crime cannot get out of the country, barred in the West with arrest warrants hanging over their heads.  Their only hope is if China, Russia and some African countries will offer them safe-haven.  Even a friendly administration may not be able to protect them since the Philippine government is no match to the clout of the West.