Hearts and Minds in the Philippines

HEARTS AND MINDS IN THE PHILIPPINES Peter Bacho he Philippines is a country with a gravely uncertain future. The national economy has deteriorated under the weight of inequitable income distribution and extreme poverty. The resultant unrest has permitted a Marxist rebellion to emerge as a legitimate and increasingly popular threat to the government under President Ferdinand Marcos— a government plagued by mismanagement, corruption, and patronage. The uncertainty of this situation is compounded by the geostrategic interests of the United States, which have all too often eclipsed any concern for the welfare of the Filipinos themselves. Central to the American interest in the Philippines is the presence of its two largest overseas military installations—Subie Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base. As internal instability has grown, the bases have become the focal point not only of American policy toward the Philippines but of mounting, though still fragmented, anti-American sentiment. The situation is far from hopeless, but a bold and enlightened U.S. policy is called for if the deterioration is to be arrested. That policy must consider the bases issue as just one component (and not the most vital component) of a comprehensive program of socioeconomic reform and democratic restoration. Many of the current problems are not new, and the fact that they arise out of historical circumstance calls for a solution born of a historical perspective. Peter Bacho teaches Philippine history at the University of Washington and writes frequently on Philippine issues for The Christian Science Monitor and other publications. 61 62 SAIS REVIEW The historical relationship between the United States and the Philippines is unique among America's overseas commitments. The Philippines was an American colony from 1898 to 1946, and despite the brevity of the colonial period, the bond with the United States has formed an essential element of the Philippine national consciousness. American ideals have permeated Filipino life, from tastes in fashion to fundamental notions of democracy. The central experience in the forging of this bond was the Second World War, out of whose shared sorrow and sacrifice have grown beliefs and misconceptions that continue to distort perceptions on both sides. In the Philippines the very words used to describe the years of war, "the occupation" and "the liberation," have taken on an almost Old Testament resonance. The Filipinos paid dearly to win back their land: half a million casualties, the destruction of their economy, and the devastation of their cities, including Manila, which was compared unfavorably with Warsaw. During and after the war the United States was the beneficiary of the Filipino code of social values, in which rights and duties are ordained by kinship, or failing that, by close personal ties. (Ferdinand Marcos, with his coterie of advisors—a group dominated by family members and friends of long standing—embodies this trait.) Once projected beyond the village level, this orientation came to envelop the United States, the older, "wiser," parent or sibling. The concept of utang na hob (debt of honor), which governs familial relations, obliged in this extended context a level of commitment and sacrifice normally reserved for the closest personal relationships, and this influenced Filipino behavior during the occupation. In 1945 the Philippines was a nation-to-be on the verge of independence . Devastated by the occupation, it was, however, in no condition to embark on a new political adventure. Psychologically as well, the prospect of America's departure was unsettling. In the months before independence thousands emigrated to the United States; more would have left if U.S. immigration laws had allowed. For those who remained the promise of a "special" relationship with the United States appeased somewhat the anxiety of separation. That the fourth ofJuly in 1946 was the day on which the Philippines proclaimed its independence is a poignant reminder of the powerful hold that the American image has claimed over the Philippine imagination . On that day president Manuel Roxas undoubtedly spoke for millions of his countrymen when he promised that the Philippines would follow "in the glistening wake of America." American policy since that time has scarcely acknowledged the enormous hopes that the Filipino people have invested in the relationship with their colonial parent. HEARTS AND MINDS...