“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely.” (John Acton)
On the world stage, the disparaging word “pariah” is
now synonymous with the name “Putin.” As MSNBC News headlined – “Putin becomes a
global pariah in the wake of [Ukraine] invasion: ‘This is Putin’s war, this
isn’t Russia’s war.”
THIS WAR IS NOT IN MY NAME
Indeed, it is Putin’s war. Dr. Irina Kuznetsova, who
emigrated from Russia to Britain, wrote in The New York Times “This War Is Not In
My Name” as excerpted below:
“The so-called history [Putin] cites to justify this
aggression is riddled with lies. The line between facts and disinformation has
been blurred in Russia for a long time. My family and I are not alone in
remembering the horrors of the past century that were carried out in the name
of the Soviet Union. The Kremlin has denied key facts around Holodomor, the
famine that claimed the lives of millions of Ukrainians. It has whitewashed
massacres in Chechnya and the Beslan school attack. Yet we have not forgotten.
And we see what has been happening in recent years – political persecutions,
expanding repressions, silencing dissent, shuttering Memorial, Russia’s most
prominent human rights organization. Step by step, we have seen the denial and
attempted erasure of historical truth.”
MONSTER
Russian writer Vladimir Sorokin in his article in The
Guardian has a more derogatory word for Putin: “monster” as excerpted below:
“On 24 February, the armor of the “enlightened
autocrat” that had housed Vladimir Putin for the previous 20 years cracked and
fell to pieces. The world saw a monster-crazed in its desires and ruthless in
its decision. The monster had grown gradually, gaining strength from year to
year, marinating in its absolute authority, imperial aggression, hatred for
western democracy, and malice fueled by the resentment engendered by the fall
of the USSR.
“Putin declared that the collapse of the USSR was the
greatest catastrophe of the 20th century. For all clear-headed
Soviet people, its collapse had been a blessing; it was impossible to find a
single-family unscathed by the Red Wheel of Stalinist Repressions. Millions
were annihilated. Tens of millions were poisoned by the fumes of communism – an
unattainable goal requiring moral and physical sacrifices by Soviet citizens.”
Sorokin narrated a joke on Putin’s preferred slogan:
“Russia rising from its knees.” That is, Russia got up from its knees, but quickly
got down onto all fours: corruption, authoritarianism, bureaucratic arbitrariness,
and poverty. Then, he added: war.
Sorokin has advised a grim warning to all westerners
who sympathize with Putin to shut up and realize that a full-scale war is being
unleashed in 21st-century Europe.
“The aggressor is Putin’s Russia. It will bring nothing but death and destruction to Europe. This was unleashed by a man corrupted by absolute power, who, in his madness, has decided to redraw the map of our world. If you listen to Putin’s speech announcing a ‘special operation,’ America and NATO are mentioned more than Ukraine. Let us also recall his recent ‘ultimatum’ to NATO. As such, his goal isn’t Ukraine, but western civilization, the hatred for which he lapped up in the black milk he drank from the KGB’s teat.”
MY IDOL
Let me tack on this pertinent information. Putin
signed a law that would allow him to run for the presidency twice more in his
lifetime, potentially keeping him in office until 2036. He surpassed even that
of Joseph Stalin who ruled the Soviet Union for 29 years and made Putin the
longest-serving Moscow leader since the Russian empire.
I would hazard a guess. After you read all of the
above and what will follow below, I bet you will be relieved to know that we
have a Constitution with this provision: “The President of the Philippines is
elected by direct vote of the people, and has a term of six years with no
provision for reelection.”
“So
who would make a good ally?” Al
Jazeera television’s Steve Chow asked Duterte and then showed him the name,
Vladimir Putin.
“My
idol,” Duterte said.
“Idol?” Chow said.
“Yes.
He has no illusions about himself. He knows that he was trained for politics.
Or to be a statesman. He acts just like a President. My characterization of
Putin is what I would describe myself.”
Euro News report:
“[D]uring a
visit to Beijing Rodrigo Duterte denounced America without reservation. ‘America has lost me. I’ve realigned myself
in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin
and tell him that there are three of us against the world – China, Philippines,
and Russia. It’s the only way’.” In 2019, PDI bannered: “Duterte off to 2nd
Russia visit, to meet ‘favorite hero’ Putin.”
BBM-SARA: FACE OF CONTINUITY
With our present Constitution’s six-year term limit
for PRRD, you may heave a sigh of relief. Not yet.
“UniTeam Is ‘Face’ of Continuity of Duterte Reforms –
Sara Duterte” (PDI headline, Feb 17, 2022)
“’Great Honor’: Chinese Envoy Meets Bongbong Marcos
Anew at Embassy Event” (CNN Philippines, Oct 21, 2021)
Let me tack on another pertinent information. Vastly
superior to Putin, Xi Jinping is allowed to remain “president for life” as
China removed the term limit on the presidency.
KEY POINTS
“By invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin
violated his neighbor’s sovereignty and the notion of international law out of
the window. Afraid of one organization, NATO, Putin ignored the principles of
another organization, the United Nations, as well as an agreement known as the
Budapest Memorandum, signed by Russia, and specifically meant to protect
Ukraine from invasion.” (The New York Times)
“CHINA IS DISMEMBERING A HUGE CHUNK OF [PHILIPPINES]
AND MAKING IT PART OF ITS OWN… What China is doing to a big part of our
dominion is no different from what it did to Tibet and what it wants to do to
Taiwan. IT IS NO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT RUSSIA IS PREPARING TO DO [war’s underway]
IN UKRAINE.” (Excerpted from PDI Joel Ruiz Butuyan’s column, underscoring mine).
WPS: VP LENI’S POSITION
VP Leni spelled out her position on the West
Philippine Sea during the CNN Philippines presidential debate.
Day
One ng aking presidency ang concepto ng instrument of national power ang aking susundin.
Ano ito?
(Day One of my presidency, I will abide by the concept
of the instrument of national power. What is it?)
1. Diplomacy. Papalakasin
natin ang pakikipag-ugnayan natin sa ating mga allies, at ng mga ibang bansa na
pareho ang paniniwala sa atin, para mayroon tayong kakampi just in case
mayroong aggression.
(We will strengthen the cooperation with our allies
and other countries with the same beliefs with us so that we will be a part of
an alliance just in case of aggression.)
2. Information. Seseguraduhin
natin na ang pamahalaan natin ang nangunguna, para i-push yong isang national
consensus para magkaisa ang mga Pilipino behind it.
(We will ensure our government will spearhead so we
can push forward the national consensus to unite Filipinos behind it.)
3. Military. Seseguraduhin
natin na pupunduhan natin yong ating Armed Forces of the Philippines para maka
pag put up tayo ng credible defense against sa ating mga aggressors hindi man
natin mapantayan yong lakas ng ibang bansa, at least mayroon tayong ilalaban sa
kanila pareho ng pinapakita ngayon ng Ukraine.
(We will ensure to allocate resources to our Armed
Forces of the Philippines so we can put up credible defense against our aggressors.
Though we cannot be a match for the military power of other countries, at least
we can fight them like what the Ukrainians have shown.)
4. Economy. Seseguraduhin
natin magiging resilient ang ating economiya para hindi tayo naiipit ng mga
predatory practices ng ibang mga foreign powers.
(We will ensure that our economy will be resilient so
we will not be exploited by the predatory practices of foreign powers.)
BOTTOM LINE
The Ukraine invasion has paved the way for VP Leni’s presidency.
