Oh My Dios! Senator Miriam is Quoting Latin Again!

The original headline for this article was going to be "Grow Up Philippines!", but this is the new, positive JoeAm doing the writing.

• I would like to commend Senator Santiago for her use of Latin in describing the legalities surrounding the dumping of trash into coastal waters. It provides Filipino school kids with a sterling example of why foreign languages are important. Nevermind that none of the rest of us understands what she is rambling on about.

• And thanks as well to the good Senator for inviting the Chinese to put their troops on Philippine islands. That is most courteous and, of course, ripping up the VFA and undermining the US alliance is like a parchment invitation encrusted in glitter and fancy perfumes.

• And for sure nevermind all the plastic and pollutants slogging their way down the Pasig river and into the same coastal waters. Senators need not be concerned about domestic abuse. It is included in the unspoken rules of impunity and obnoxity which allow them to ignore RH and FOI and other acts that could caretake the nation whilst berating good allies.

We are talking about those arrogant foreigners here, so we can use our Latin in fine form. The envy endowed Filipino populace really eats this stuff up. It also provides juicy headlines for the in-depth media coverage we can expect from the daily rags and TV.

Here's the situation.

• The U.S. is sending more naval ships to the Philippines to bolster U.S. presence in the West Philippine Sea to advance U.S. and Philippine defense and commercial interests.

• The ships have toilet output and used oil aboard. Humpty Dumpty herein defines these materials as "waste."

• The U.S. Navy contracts with a company named Glenn Defense Marine Asia Philippines, Inc. ("Glenn") to take the waste and dispose of it.

• Glenn has been charged with dumping untreated waste into Philippine waters.

• There is a document called the Visiting Forces Agreement ("VFA") in place between the Philippines and U.S. that allows the U.S. to bring soldiers to the Philippines without visas, Philippine soldiers to the U.S. for training, and work out what happens if soldiers of either country commit crimes.

• Senator Miriam is on a rant, extending her shriek from the Nicole Affair in which, looking a lot like the portrait "The Scream", she exclaimed "The humiliation! The humiliation!" regarding the unbalanced imprisonment provisions of the VFA.

• Senator Latin  says the alleged Glenn dumping is a violation of the VFA. She's on the attack, and the U.S. Navy is her target.

Well, if I were cartoonist Conrad, I'm afraid I would draw the good Senator as a petulant little child tossing a hissy fit whenever she wanted attention. Nicole incident, hissy fit. Corona verdict, hissy fit. Libel committee meeting where no one showed up, hissy fit. Trash in the bay, hissy fit. Probably a few dozen more that I am not aware of.

Now here's the straight deal.

 

At this point it is none of the Senator's business and she should be more interested in protecting the integrity of Philippine defense alliances than undermining them for her own self promotion. And she ought to strive for the maturity and dignity of allowing other arms of Philippine government to do their jobs.

It is the job of Executive to police the affair, and Executive is doing this. The U.S. Navy is investigating the incident, too. Like her libel committee fiasco, Senator Santiago wants the Senate to act as a heavy hitting policeman. She may get more traction on this because she can paint the U.S. as villain. That always gets a lot of traction with a certain esteem-challenged, envious segment of the Philippine population.

No, no, Childlike Senator. The Senate should be passing laws, not policing the state. Like do YOUR business well before taking off on someone else's. Get RH and FOI passed. And maybe get the Pasig river cleaned up, too, while you are at it. Trust me, it is spewing a lot more  . . . um positive word, positive word . . . "effluents" into the Bay than a dozen U.S. Navy boats.

Incidentally, Glenn is not a U.S. company. It was formed in Malaysia and is a global company. It was hired by the U.S. in good faith.

Get your villains lined up right.

And while I am at it, being positively steamed, let me read riot on another childish moment of Philippine behavior, IF it is true.

If it is true that the Aquino administration is upset that President Obama has not responded to an invitation to visit the Philippines during his Asian trip, I'd say grow up, grow up, grow up. Stop being so needy as to draw prestige and power from the United States. Do it on your own THROUGH ACHIEVEMENT. Pass RH and FOI. Talk up freedom of speech instead of libel laws.  Become the economic tiger of Asia. Don't define your worth in terms of what others do. Psychology 101.

President Obama is visiting Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia where he is visiting an ASEAN economic summit. He's a busy man, these countries are in close proximity, and he can give Myanmar a needed boost into the global community. Why on God's great green earth does he need to come to the Philippines, a country that SUPPOSEDLY has its act together?

Dump the childish associative pride that depends on WHAT OTHERS DO to feel whole and big.

EARN your way to real pride through acts.

That's all. I'm done here. I'm starting to read like Angry Maude. I also need an intravenous injection of her KJJ . . .

I'm having a hard time keeping this on a positive roll . . . so segue to . . .

Some Simple Facts

Glenn Defense Marine Asia is a substantial company providing ship services to many nations.

Founded: Malaysia in 1946.

Offices: Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, India, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Philippines, North America, and Panama. It provides services in 40 nations.

Vision:  To be the one-stop global leader in total marine husbanding, naval defense logistics, force protection , maritime security and offshore resource solutions provider and top asset owner.

Mission:  To establish a global presence to provide the most comprehensive & integrated service platform for the 21st century.

Corporate Policy:  Our number one goal is customer service. We are here to demonstrate an exceptional mastery of professional excellence, values, ethics & personal integrity to all our clients.

Self Description:

GDMA epitomizes a new generation of capabilities, skills and elite people to solve the full spectrum of needs in the world of marine logistics and force protection. We have established for ourselves a regional presence unsurpassed by any other company for the 21st Century.

We are renowned for providing unrivalled value to our customers with our highest quality products, comprehensive services and speedy and efficient job execution. Our distinguished workforce are solution providers and consistently carry out impeccable customer services, to satisfy any request or requirement.

Services:

• Marine & Offshore  Logistics
• Sea, Land & Air Transportation
• Enhances Security Equipment & Services
• Ship Building, Repair & Maintenance
• One-Stop Vessel Carter & Equipment Hire

Marine & Shore Logistics:

• Ensuring the appropriate berthing space is made available in advance

• Making arrangement for pilots, tugs, line handlers

• Gangways & brows & platforms

• Yokohama fenders, submarine fenders

• Breasting barges

• Cranes, heavy & light lifting machinery, forklifts, conveyors, cherry pickers & manlifts

• Floating crane services

• Pier fresh water & water barge for anchorage

• Garbage bins & garbage removal services & trash barge

• Waste disposal services (CHT & Sewage, oily waste, HAZMAT, and medical grey water discharge)

• IDD telephone land lines, cellular phones, beepers, walkie talkies, email phones, satellite phones

• Water taxi & land transportation

• Fuel & bunker supply (MGO/F-76, JP5, SAE40)

• Oil booms & skimmers

• Diving services (under water inspection of ships hull, installation of sea chest screens on ship intakes)

• Supply of shore power generators, boilers, feed water & rain makers

• Submarine support services: submarine fenders, muses, rat guard & generators