FROM the start of his regime, I have not written about how BBM runs government. Instead, I wrote several columns on foreign affairs and genocides in Ukraine and Palestine, a much more compelling take. Consequently, I started a series on religion as the root cause of these conflicts and segued into debunking religious myths and narratives. I suspend these series upon the insistence of my Catholic family and friends to allow them to celebrate Christmas in a fashion that the three Abrahamic religions traditionally do, except that Christianity has so commercialized the season — the birth of a messiah. I also shied away from writing about the West Philippine Seas and the heightened tension there. But for the recent screaming headlines about China's using water cannons and laser beams against our fisherfolks, Chinese coast guard vessels preventing resupply to our pathetic outpost in the Ayungin Shoal, the derelict BRP Sierra Madre, BBM's inability to at least do something, or anything against this bullying; and topping his otherwise remarkable speech at the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii with distorted narratives; I needed to wade into the fray and get some facts straight.
West Philippine Sea (WPS)
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