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| Joe Biden, the Democratic Party Candidate and likely next President of the US. Photo from Wikimedia Commons |
No winner of the United States (US) Presidential Elections held last November 7, 2020 has been officially declared yet, and it is not expected to be made until around January 2021.1
However, most if not all projections show the Democratic Party Candidate Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. or simply Joe Biden as having a clear and substantial lead over the current sitting US President Donald John Trump.2
If Biden does indeed officially become the next President of the US, then this will end Trump’s Presidency after just a single 4-year term. While nothing is absolutely sure until they happen, here is what I think Biden as the new US President could mean for the Philippines.
The Philippine Opposition will definitely draw inspiration and motivation from Biden’s win in terms of defeating the Candidate that will be endorsed by current President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in the coming 2022 Philippine Presidential Elections.
Because just like Trump, Duterte is seen as a ‘Populist’ (which means as per the Meriam Webster Dictionary as, “a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people”) Leader. Also the US Democratic Party which Biden belongs to is a close ally of the Philippine Opposition, particularly the Liberal Party.
Expect the Opposition to closely study how the Democrats campaigned to defeat Trump, and try to adopt some of those Tactics and Strategies into their own campaign against Duterte's bet for the Presidency in 2022.
Unlike in the 2016 US Presidential Elections when there were a lot of accusations of News manipulation in favor of Trump, Social Media this time (particularly Facebook) seems to have been checked, I haven’t seen any serious concerns about it this time around.
With Social Media neutralized this Election I think MainStream Media (MSM) is back as a major Power Broker in the US Politics. Just as in the case of Philippine MSM against the Duterte Administration, the US MSM has been shamelessly biased against Trump, abandoning the basic Code of Ethics of Journalism of Accuracy and Fairness.
Journalism is supposed to uphold Accuracy and Fairness by stating Facts and allowing all Voices to be heard. All Sources are supposed to be treated with Professionalism and reported without Bias or Interpretation.3 But in their desperation to engage in Partisan Politics, this has clearly been abandoned by MSM, most particularly in recent Years.
The Philippine MSM will also likely study how the US MSM went up against Trump and follow what they did in the hopes of replicating the same results against Duterte's Candidate in 2022.
De Lima was arrested in 2017 on Charges of colluding with Drug Lords inside the Bilibid Prison and orchestrating a Drug Trafficking Ring with them. She has been in Jail since then, but has denied all Charges and called them as being “Politically Motivated”.4 She was also a former Justice Secretary during the Term of President Benigno S. Aquino Jr.
Ressa is a Dual Citizen with both Philippine and American Citizenships and is a Founder of the Philippine News Organization Rappler. She is also its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and is currently facing various Charges in Court including one from the Philippine Government for Tax Evasion which she describes as being Politically Motivated.5
Biden’s Democrat Lawmaker Partymates has been in the forefront in supporting the Causes of both De Lima and Ressa. In April 2019 for example, Senate Resolution Number 142 was filed to impose Sanctions on the Philippine Government unless De Lima is released from Prison and all Charges against Ressa are dropped.
The Bill eventually ended up being sponsored by eight Democrat and two Republican Senators. The Bill passed the Senate in January 2020,6 but has yet to be passed into Law as of this writing.
As a result of the filing of the Bill though, the Philippines has banned three of the Democratic Senators who supported it, namely Senators Patrick Joseph Leahy, Richard Joseph Durbin and Edward John Markey from entering the Country.7
Then in July 2020, five Democratic Senators wrote a Letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging the Trump Administration to take action against the Duterte Administration’s supposed Human Rights (HR) abuses.8
Among other things, the Senators mentioned the issues of De Lima and Ressa, and also added in as “issue” the enactment of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (ATA-2020). Of particular note is the Case of Ressa who the Senators said Trump should act for since she is also an American Citizen.
Quoting directly from the Senator’s Letter: “We value the partnership between the United States and the Philippines, but we must stand up against the brutal tactics of the Duterte government, particularly when they are used against American citizens”.
In July 2020, it was Biden’s Democratic Partymates in the US’ House of Representatives turn to make noise against the Duterte Administration when 48 of them signed a Letter and sent it to the Philippine Ambassador in the US urging the Philippine Government to repeal ATA-2020.9
The ATA-2020 is a new Law that will help the Philippine Government fight Terrorism more effectively that was implemented starting July 2020, but it has been heavily politicized by the Philippine Opposition as supposedly a Tool that will allow the Duterte Government to crack down on its Critics, which is of course absolutely not true at all.
You can access the Primer,10 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)11 and the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR)12 for the ATA-2020 on the Sources Section below.
Then later in September 2020, the Democrats in the Lower House filed House Resolution Number 8313 – The Philippine Human Rights Act which is seeking to deny the use of any US Federal Funds to assist the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) until certain conditions are met.13
Some of these conditions include:
- Military and Police Members should be investigated and prosecuted for Human Rights Violations;
- There should be no Military involvement in Domestic Policy;
- The protection of the Rights of Labor Leaders, Journalists, Human Rights Defenders, Indigenous Persons, Small Farmers, Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Intersex (LGBTI) Activists and Critics of the Philippine Government;
- The Philippine Judicial System should be guaranteed that it is capable of investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to justice Members of the Police and Military who have committed human rights abuses;
- The Philippines should fully comply with any and all Audits or Investigations regarding the improper use of Security Aid.
As of this writing, the Resolution has not been passed in Congress yet, but a total of 30 Congresspersons have ended up supporting it, all of whom are Members of the Democratic Party.
And what does Joe Biden himself think of Rodrigo Duterte? Well he doesn’t seem to have said much about him in Public, but he was quoted so in at least one instance in an Article back in June 2019, and it is not a good sign.
Biden said that Trump’s abuse of Power is being copied by Leaders around the World, and while he did not directly mention Duterte, he did mention the Philippines.
Here is Biden’s quote from the Article: “It’s always been about the abuse of power, and look what (he's) doing: He not only attacks courts because he said, 'How can a judge with Mexican ancestry treat me fairly?' The news media - all along back there - 'They’re all fake news,' he says. No, everybody thinks that’s kind of, you know, it doesn’t mean much, but look at the people copying his ways all around the world, whether it’s Orbán in Hungary, whether it’s in the Philippines.”14
In fairness, just like Trump, Biden does not seem to have said much about De Lima, Ressa or even Duterte up to now. However, now that he is President, I think that he will be under constant pressure from his own Democratic Party to not only speak out but also act out against Duterte.
The next four Years of Biden’s Presidency will see it cross paths with the Philippines’ Presidential Elections in 2022, and again there will likely be strong pressure for him to support the Philippine Opposition in whatever way it can since they are a close ally of his Democratic Party.
The Philippine Opposition probably has gained a valuable ally with Biden’s ascendancy to the US Presidency. For me, the only question left now is at what level of support for them and antagonism towards the Duterte Presidency will he show? Will it be much, or not much after all? I guess we will just have to wait and see, then.
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| Donald Trump, the current President of the US. Photo from Wikimedia Commons |
SOURCES:
1 Who declares Winner in US Presidential Election?
2 Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins
3 The University of Arkansas Center for Ethics in Journalism, Introduction to Accuracy and Fairness
4 Senator Leila de Lima arrested in the Philippines
5 Philippine Journalist Maria Ressa rejects 'Politically Motivated' Tax Evasion Charges
7 Duterte bans another US Senator from entering PH
8 US Senators ask Pompeo: What is Washington’s response to ‘gross’ human rights abuses in Philippines?
9 Letter to the Philippines Ambassador on the Anti-Terrorism Law
10 Anti-Terrorism Bill (House Bill No. 6875) Primer by the ATC Secretariat and ATC-PMC
11 The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
13 House Resolution Number 8313 – The Philippine Human Rights Act
14 Joe Biden: Thugs around the World are copying Trump's behavior
Biden being a liberal democrat will focus on human rights in Duterte administration. Human rights is the theme of western countries especially the US to control and dominate a 3rd world country to submission. when in fact the US also violates human rights to its own citizens and to its adversaries worldwide. so they are not in a position to talk about human rights.
ReplyDeleteHe will soon start his Term, so let's take a close watch on that, especially on what he does to the Duterte Administration.
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