Duterte joins Biden's democracy call
International Relations

Duterte joins Biden's democracy call

Dec 13, 2021, 4:45 AM
OpinYon News Team

OpinYon News Team

News Reporter

President Duterte's love-hate relationship with America has never failed to puzzle those who keep track of Philippines-US ties. Now Duterte cozies up to Joe Biden by responding to his call for Democracy.

UNITED States President Joseph Biden took center stage last December 9 to 10, 2021 when he successfully touted several heads of state and government to join him in US-sponsored Summit for Democracy.

When Malacañang announced it locally, the Palace said President Biden has invited heads of state and government, global leaders, and voices from the business and non-government sectors to join the US in taking action to strengthen democracy. Presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles quoted from invitation letter of Biden to Duterte, citing the United States Biden will “host the Summit for Democracy with humility and in the spirit of mutual learning.”

Biden stressed that together, the Philippines and US will “embark on the work necessary to shape a prosperous and peaceful future built on respect for the rights and aspirations of all people.”

Duterte joins

It is hugely significant that Duterte has accepted this invitation to join Joe Biden's Summit for Democracy, attended by 89 government, state and business leaders. It is well to point out that only three countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been invited to the meeting: the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.

In his speech at the virtual summit, President Duterte acknowledged that the Philippines is one of the oldest democracies in Asia and that Filipinos have a tradition of freedom. But still, democracy in the country is a “work in progress,” the President affirmed.

The Chief Executive said the Philippine democratic institutions have always been threatened by contentious issues, resulting in an imperfect system of governance.

“Corruption, poverty, and peace and order issues have always been and continue to be our major challenges. They weakened our institutions and deprived many Filipinos of democratic agencies,” he added.

Vibrant democracy

President Duterte was proud to say that “Today, we have a vibrant democracy and an open and diverse society. Freedom of expression and of the press are fully enjoyed and the regular transfer of power is guaranteed through free and honest elections.”

As expected, Biden's call for a serious discussion on democratic issues was met with both praises and acrimony by global observers. This is expected because at the outset, the US has put forward a mission statement that really invites controversy, for it has a vague reference to China: "... to renew democracy at home and confront autocracies abroad."

The White House added that the Summit has three themes: defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, and advancing respect for human rights.

Critics

In the Philippines, critics such as the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) and Karapatan said Duterte's six-year "reign of terror" hardly qualifies him to speak about democracy.

They pointed out that the present dispensation is now being investigated for crimes against humanity in connection with the conduct of the controversial war on drugs that killed many lives, some of them innocent.

The critics said that "US' aid, funded by the taxes of the American people, has only been used by the Duterte administration to engender human rights violations and war crimes for the past 6 years. It is high time for the United States to end its support for Duterte's tyrannical rule."

Arbitrary invites

Karapatan has no "karapatan" to tell Biden who to invite and who to disinvite. The US is arbitrary in this regard.

Despite its official one-China policy, Biden invited Taiwan to the Summit and rejected China, which is seen by many as both provocative and a blatant attempt to intervene in China's internal affairs.

Juan Guaido, a Venezuelan opposition leader, was invited but not the country's democratically elected President. The US recognizes Guaido as Venezuela's interim president despite that fact that he has never even stood in an election to be president of Venezuela.

In an editorial, Malaya Business Insight pointed out that only three from Asean were invited. "The others -- Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, and Singapore -- compose the non-invitees for various reasons, among them the existence of one-party state, military rule, and low democracy rating. Singapore, an important economic partner of the US, was also shunned presumably because it questioned the recent United Kingdom-US-Australia submarine patrol alliance in the South China Sea. Sri Lanka and Hong Kong which had high democracy ratings were also left out. Pakistan which has the lowest democracy score in the Asia-Pacific region had to be invited because its arch-rival India was in the list.

"Since this is Biden's picture of what democracy should be, China and Russia were excluded, as expected, but Taiwan's inclusion in the guest list was a problem because the US does not officially recognize Taiwan. This territory will only be represented by its Digital Minister."

Time to say 'thank you'

President Duterte thanked the United States for convening the Summit for Democracy, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic when members of the community of nations should stand together and cooperate for the shared public health responsibility. Duterte also thanked the US for all the pandemic response assistance it has given the country.

“These challenges call for the close examination of our democratic institutions while holding fast to the values and principles we have sworn to uphold,” Duterte concluded.

(With a report by Diego C. Cagahastian)


We take a stand
OpinYon News logo

Designed and developed by Simmer Studios.

© 2024 OpinYon News. All rights reserved.