March 6, 2013: If I were Sabah Edition

If I were President Aquino, I would keep talking as if I am Malaysia's friend but secretly appease the Royal Sultanate of Sulu. I know he is not in a position to try to start a war with our Southeast Asian neighbor but if the claim succeeds, it will be the people of Mindanao who will benefit from it the most. ;)

If I were running for Senate in the May 2013 elections, I would ride on the issue and try to fan the flames of nationalism. It's better to fight against a common enemy than fight each other.

If I were the Kirams, I would keep on gathering support from fellow Filipinos and other states like Indonesia. The more powerful support, the better bargaining position.

If I were a writer of P-Noy, I would ease on the language.  Using words like "hopeless case" creates an impression that we cannot even protect our sovereignty against equals like Malaysia.  How much more a world power like China?

If I were one of the 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah, I would fear for my job and safety but I should be open to an option of helping my Filipino brothers who are being hunted by the Malaysian army.  It is a tough choice that hopefully, they would not have to make.

If I were the DOJ, I would stop talking about filing cases on the Sabah "liberators".  They will not be able to file a case since those people are there to fight till death.

If I were the Malaysians, I would try to end this swiftly but be prepared for a long war.  It can take years to resolve.  Look at Mindanao, the Philippines cannot even flush out the rebels. After some peace with one group, another group comes out.  Malaysia has been "brokering" peace but they will understand the meaning of "war" and get a small dose of reality.

The Sabah issue has reached its tipping point. Eventually, the issue should be raised at a higher forum like International Court of Justice or the United Nations. Without a higher authority that can act on the claims, all parties involved will be firm in their positions. Someone needs to act quickly or else it could escalate into a war and stunting the economic progress of both the Philippines and Malaysia and also making both countries vulnerable to external threats. I really pray that issues will be resolved soon without further bloodshed.