No need to scrap Edca

PRESIDENT Digong should think twice—nay, 100 times—before burning bridges with the United States.

The President should not scrap the PH-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) just because Uncle Sam is critical of his war on drugs.
Both the United States and our country benefit from the war games under Edca.

If we get too emotional because of criticisms about the way we handle our internal problem, we might lose a longtime ally.
By all means, let’s be friends with Russia and China which have extended the hand of friendship to us.

But we can be friends with the United States, Russia and China—all at the same time.

***
There’s a reason for President Digong to be upset with the United States for criticizing his war on drugs.

The US government practices a double standard.

Why are the Americans against the killing of drug traffickers in the Philippines when they are helping Colombian and Brazilian authorities fight drug cartels?

Many people have been killed in Colombia’s continuing war on drugs and the United States doesn’t decry this as extrajudicial.

Members of the US Drug Enforcement Agency do intelligence work for the Colombian government and even take part in battling drug traffickers in that South American country.

In Brazil, some members of the elite US Navy Seals fight side by side with the police in Rio de Janeiro in battling heavily armed “Red Commandos,” members of that country’s drug syndicate (Source: Gangster Warlords by Ioan Grillo)

Why is the United States tolerating Colombia and Brazil’s efforts, even taking part in going after the drug cartels in those countries, but condemning Duterte’s deadly campaign against illicit drugs?
Isn’t that hypocrisy on the part of Uncle Sam?

***
The President has apologized to the Jews for his remark about slaughtering three million Filipino drug addicts, comparing them to the Jews during Adolf Hitler’s time.

That was the second time President Digong apologized in public, the first to former Pangasinan governor and now Congressman Amado Espino and two other provincial officials for mistakenly linking them to drugs.

One good thing about the President is his ability to own up to a mistake and say sorry.

But too many apologies also erode his credibility.

***
LBC’s new epithets are Late Baggage Corp. or Lost Baggage Corp. but it doesn’t seem to care.

My public service program, “Isumbong mo kay Tulfo,” has received numerous complaints from customers about money or items sent through LBC which failed to arrive at their destination or got lost along the way.

The latest complainant is Michelle Balinas of Cainta, Rizal, who sent P25,750 to Edgardo Ybanez of Biliran province which he never received.

Balinas sent the money through the LBC office on Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, in early July.

When Ybanez said he didn’t receive the money, Balinas complained to the LBC management.

On Sept. 28, Balinas went to my office to decry the company’s inaction.
When we called up LBC about Balinas’ complaint, we were told its legal office would face any lawsuit to be filed against the company.

In short, LBC was not taking responsibility for the loss of Balinas’ money while it was in transit to Biliran.

What arrogance!

Anyway, that was not the first time we received complaints of a similar nature against LBC.

***
I took a Philippine Airlines flight from Puerto Princesa City to Manila on Monday and, as usual, the plane took off late, living up to the joke about PAL—Plane Always Late.

The plane was scheduled to take off at 7 a.m. and arrive in Manila at 8 a.m.

Flying time from Puerto Princesa to Manila and vice versa is exactly one hour.

The plane took off late—at 9 a.m. and landed at the Manila International Airport at 9:55 a.m.

As a result, the stewardess proudly announced over the plane’s loudspeaker that the plane had arrived “ahead of schedule.”