De Lima, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, criticized the government’s shift in foreign policy, saying the Philippines’ “independent positioning” was “hollow and all bluster.”
“We cannot go on telling the US to leave us alone just because we don’t want it prying into our human rights records and EJKs (extrajudicial killings). Sooner or later, something has to give,” De Lima said.
“This is just the start of what we will be reaping from the US as result of the isolationist whirlwind this administration has sown and continue to sow out of an incomprehensible and ridiculous policy shift to anti-Americanism and pro-totalitarian Chinese hegemony in Asia,” she added.
De Lima said the Philippines’ independent foreign policy would lead to isolation and hostility not only to the US but also its allies in the region like Japan, Australia, and South Korea.
Also Read: Australia Giving Duterte Administration $90-M Aid in Mindanao
“The question is, how does this deliberate strategy to isolate us from our friends fit a comprehensive foreign policy shift that would somehow benefit us as a nation?” De Lima said.
Duterte has repeatedly said that the Philippines, during his administration, would pursue an independent foreign policy.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, for his part, said the Philippines did not stand to lose anything if the US would stop the rifle sale.
“There are tens of other countries that manufacture better and probably cheaper assault rifles than the US,” Lacson said.
De Lima also said the move of the State Department “should have been expected” because of the rise in number of EJKs amid the administration’s war on drugs.
“The Duterte administration saw this coming and of course was most probably indifferent to its consequences as its social media support groups and fake news sites will now drum this up as an opportunity to be independent of the US, and its support weapons supplies and technology,” De Lima said.
A Reuters report said the planned sale of some 26,000 assault rifles was halted following opposition from Senator Ben Cardin over concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines. —NB, GMA News
American Concern About Human Rights? How About Watching this Video
"This is just the start of what we will be reaping from the US" - De Lima
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