Dear President Marcos, kindly don’t kiss America’s patootie
Analysis and Opinion
By Joe America
I was highly disturbed last week by news videos showing the acting American ambassador to Manila visiting an ICI meeting. The video showed Filipinos treating this acting guy as a movie star, and the movie star enjoying his role.
He should not have been there. Philippine justice is a sovereign internal affair, absolutely not a place for international intrusions. Especially on the heels of social media postings saying that the American CIA will engage in the Philippines to agitate against Sara Duterte.
The Philippines. Filipinos. And especially President Marcos should not act the slave to the white racist landowner. No step, no fetch it.
Respect, sure. Offer that.
But draw some lines in the sovereign dirt. Keep foreigners out of politics and justice. Keep America out.
America is a meddler, an officious, always self-confident, often arrogant, and occasionally warmongering friend. When your friend is drunk, help sober him up. And for sure don’t let him in the house with the kids and jewelry.
You represent the Philippines best when you do not bow. And your handshake is firm.
__________________________
Cover photo from GMA Integrated News facebook video “Representative from the US Embassy arrives in ICI“.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
The US Ambassador to the Philippines is MaryKay Carlson, a career diplomat who was installed by Biden. Trump has nominated a new ambassador, which is his prerogative, but that nominee has not been confirmed by the US Senate nor is in place. The “ambassador” in question is Michael Kelleher, who by Philippine diplomatic speak was referred by Filipino media as the “acting deputy chief of mission,” which is another way to say “acting deputy ambassador,” or in American parlance, acting chargé d’affaires. The Filipino diplomatic term makes Mr. Kelleher’s role seem much bigger and more powerful than it really is.
Ambassador Carlson is still the US Ambassador to the Philippines and is active in representing the US State Department in in the Philippines, including just days ago when she was present to unveil a US grant of P140 million to the PCG for the purpose of maritime policing training in partnership with the USCG which will help protect the WPS. Mr. Kelleher is also a career diplomat, first appointed under Obama, and to my knowledge has held multiple State Department roles over multiple American administrations in the area of Human Rights. Kelleher’s public footprint is quite low, as is appropriate for a career diplomat. It is important to remember that despite the instances of Trump’s evil deeds, the vast bulk of the US State Department, and the US Federal Government overall is staffed by non-partisan career officials, who will be instrumental in blunting the carnage unleashed by the MAGA project.
Unless contradicting information surfaces, I’m inclined to go with the ICI and Malacañang’s clarification that Mr. Kelleher attended the ICI meeting to explore how tackling infrastructure corruption can benefit future American and Filipino business projects. Of course, in order to do business, a country requires stronger infrastructure. Having improved infrastructure to facilitate both domestic and foreign trade is a benefit to the Philippines, which was the entire point of the ICI to begin with.
I am NOT inclined, though, to be swayed by the hyperbolic shouting by the Philippine far-left, which includes Makabayan and their allies, regarding this incident. The far-left are the main drivers of this story on both their official social media channels and fake no-name websites that have ephemeral groups behind the page. Was the visit by Mr. Kelleher wise with regard to both the US State Department and the ICI? Probably not, as it gave the Philippine far-left ammunition to rail against alleged American imperialism. The Philippine far-left was integral in destroying Aquino’s presidency and preparing the ground for Duterte to rise. Both times, the Philippine far-left initially allied with Aquino and Duterte with hopes to get a foothold to push their own far-left agenda, before turning on both Aquino and Duterte. I don’t think such groups with childish, proven pro-PRC thinking, should get a pass now that they claim to be “on the side of the people” again while trotting out their old and tired tropes of a supposed American imperialist boogeyman when the PRC is breathing down the neck of the Philippines every single day in the WPS and corrupting Philippine politics.
I do believe it is important to take a step back with deep breath for any story, rather than engage in knee-jerk reactions. If more details emerge later, then understanding can be updated at that point.
My knee jerk reaction was that this was an inappropriate forum for the US to pursue business interests, or any interests, and nothing I’ve read since has changed my mind. It not only raises fire with the left, it raises my personal cynicism about Trump’s abrasive foreign policy initiatives and how they might affect the Philippines. I think the US will try to run the Philippines in some respects, and that’s why I encourage firmness by the Philippines and no more of these misdirected initiatives.
I imagine Malacañang, the ICI, and probably the US Embassy to the Philippines had realized (perhaps too late) that Kelleher’s presence at the ICI meeting was a diplomatic faux pas.
Ambassador Carlson has been a champion for a closer relationship between the US and the Philippines during her entire tenure, and she strikes me as someone who would resign in protest if anything nefarious occurred. Certainly Amb. Carlson would suffer no career setback as she already knows she will be rotated out of her posting soon once her successor passes US Senate confirmation.
I suspect Kelleher had no ulterior motive as he is likewise a career diplomat, unless something comes out otherwise. For all we know, the ICI or Malacañang may have been the ones who actually invited Kelleher in a misguided effort to show that soon, reformed and expanded infrastructure can attract more American private investment. One of the responsibilities of an embassy abroad is to act as a intermediary for a country’s business interests. The Philippine embassy to the US acts as a Philippines-side agent all the time to try to attract investment.
It is a good thing for US-Philippine business and economic integration, which in fact is more positive for the Philippines than for the US.
Even Trump recognizes that to counter China, the Philippines plays an important role, and thus maintained the path towards greater inclusion that Biden started under his term. Both Rubio, Hegseth and multiple undersecretaries of both their departments have also paid visits to underscore the relationship.
One wonders what angle the Philippine far-left is trying to do here. With the far-left trying to play both Aquino and Duterte in the past, undermining the achievements of former and getting burned by the latter, and giving themselves self-laudatory praise for supposedly toppling the dictatorship (they in fact came LATE and yet took credit), I’m not inclined to entertain anything the far-left spouts. It only harms the relationship with the Philippines’ only credible choice of ally against the PRC. A PRC which is actually trying to take over parts of Philippine territory seems more important to deal with than the far-left’s fever dreams of supposed American imperialism.
I think we should refrain from reading the tea leaves. I am extremely allergic to the far-left’s hyperbolics, making mountains out of molehills as usual, always vehemently anti-American over imagined slights yet curiously pro-positions that benefit a PRC that seeks not only to dominate Asia but to subsume it into a Greater China. This imagined brouhaha has only added fuel to the pro-Duterte crowd from my estimation, judging by the massive Cebuano-language disinformation campaign I’ve seen since the event happened. All this noise from the far-left has happened once before, when the US was pressured to withdraw from Subic Bay and Clark Air Base in 1992. We all know exactly what happened 3 years after that at Mischief/Panganiban Reef.
A mistake is a mistake. The left is irrelevant (to me). Lacking Embassy or Presidential candor, all we have is supposition, which you yourself engage in. Well, mine is not supposition. Mine is a recommendation that the US be respectful of Philippine sovereignty, and the Philippines remain firm in running its sovereign affairs and not concede to any aggressions from any direction.
The thing is, no one really even cares anymore about the diplomatic faux pas aside from the far-left who continue to beat their war drums to gather attention to themselves.
Interesting that the imperfect friend, who would be the one to come to the Philippines’ aid in time of actual threat to sovereign integrity, continually gets beat up over PERCEIVED slights, yet the enemy who harasses and bites off more of Philippines ACTUAL territory every day is not attacked with equal harsh words.
All the while, the rumors of an ongoing coup attempt continue, with both Sec. Teodoro and Gen. Brawner attempting to push back. Sec. Teodoro warning that the Philippines will end up like Myanmar if the coup is successful. Which “religious sect” and groups are pushing for such a coup? No one is willing to say yet, but ask ourselves which adversary benefits in the end? China.
Small potatoes. There are bigger things to focus on. How many times have Filipinos quarreled amongst themselves and with friends, only to get overrun by a foreign enemy that was greedily looking for their opening the entire time while no one was paying attention to the obvious?
Those are interesting discussion points. China is criticized regularly in the Philippines. There is no free pass. The US is criticized by the largely irrelevant left. I’ve not examined the coup matter as I think lunatics abound and I try to not waste time with them. Filipinos quarreling before getting overrun is another topic I’ve not explored. Sounds like democracy to me.
My point is so very simple. The US should respect Philippine sovereignty, and the Philippines should be firm in defending its sovereignty. I think the US Embassy (Carlson) would agree with rhe point. I’m not convinced Trump’s foreign policy gurus would. The issue here is not with the Philippines. It’s with the US.
it has not irk the ire of defense chief teodoro, the ambassador’s visit to ICC. if indeed the visit has ulterior motive that jeopardises our sovereignty, I’m glad the ambassador did not come with armed US marines.
lest we dont have to be like zelensky begging to be seen, asking for arms, currying for favor and wanting to be on trump’s good side. the ambassador dropped by for a goodwill visit. there is no ordinance that said the ambassador can’t.
though we should have more faith with the professionalism of our ICC probers, they are not there for nothing. and have they found something untoward with the ambassordor’s visit, they’d surely tell the ambassador to go and eat baluga!
I stick by my belief that the US ambassador has no business attending an investigation into criminal acts by government officials and citizens. It is a bad look for the Philippines to allow it, making the Philippines look like a puppet of the US. There is a lot going on militarily between the US and Philippines and Teodoro should not stick his nose into it either. If we want the Philippines to stand tall, the Philippines must stand tall always.
Each US Embassy has varying degrees of diplomatic independence from State in DC. The US Embassy to the Philippines is one such embassy that has a large degree of independence, and suggestion that Trump’s foreign policy minions are minutely directing everything reaches into conspiracy theory land. Which is not borne by actual evidence, as for all the Trump minion blustering across the world, the Philippines is one country that both Rubio and Hegseth appear to be quite recognizant of the Philippines’ value as a partner, shown by multiple high level visits in less than a year.
You and I are not privy to why Acting DepCOM Kelleher was there at the ICI meeting. DepCOM, not ambassador. There is a major difference. The former is subordinate to the latter. For all we know the ICI invited Mr. Kelleher in a typical Filipino over eager friendliness, and the US Embassy made an unwise decision to accept the invitation. The video showed Mr. Kelleher interacting jovially and with genuine interest to what was being shared with him. The ICI’s statement made it clear the courtesy visit pertained to showing that “soon,” the Philippines infrastructure would be suitable for American and foreign investment. Was everything above board? Probably. Was it wise for either side? Probably, probably not. It is not good to jump to conclusions in the absence of evidence.
The whole Philippines stand tall thing is a bit tiring. Should a country jealously guard its sovereignty? Of course. But there are other ways to do it than to message strength when little actual strength exists to maintain that sovereignty without outside support. And where the accused in question is literally the country which is the main defense benefactor, that is the leader of the regional alliance that includes the other East Asian countries and Australia. How about standing tall, and standing tall silently? That works too, and often often works better.
I have followed the Ukraine-Russia War closely since 2014. My last visit was after the full invasion started. I am simply amazed at the quiet resilience of the Ukrainian people during my time here which continues for another few weeks. Ukraine is a country whose population is 3 times smaller than the Philippines, with a GDP nearly 3x smaller as well. Yet Ukraine is buzzing with excitement that they have sealed a deal with Sweden for 150 Gripen fighter jets, with production in part within Ukraine. If a much smaller and more poor country can do all this even in the face of imperialistic assault, then the Philippines needs to reckon with why there are yet still some who seem to love bashing the American friend for every little perceived, not actual, slight more than facing west to the imperialist enemy of the PRC who is tearing off pieces of Philippine sovereignty everyday.
I’ve not jumped to conclusions. I did not like what I saw, from the standpoint of protecting Philippine sovereignty. My recommendation is for the US to do better.
The ICI is an internal justice function of the Philippines. What possible value is US presence to the Commissions work? Zero. What possible takeaway can the US obtain? Tell them to be firm but fair, or ruthless, and we’ll reduce your tariff? There is nothing the US can gain. To say it was awkward would be a gross understatement. It was not a diplomatic venue. Period. I can’t comprehend why it is necessary to dance around the issue. It was a blunder. We want the Philippines to act. Then lets act and call a spade a spade. Lets encourage the Philippines to stand tall, stand sovereign, and do good work to bring down corruption. And not fall into star worship of the great white father to the East.
I understand you detest the Left and the Left is hostile to the US, and hostile toward the ICI visit, so you want to oppose them. Well that has nothing to do with the merits or demerits of the incident and is not a good reason to try to justify a mistake. Call a mistake a mistake. If you do not, there will be more mistakes. Accountability 101.
In my initial reply, I clearly said that the visit was probably misguided and probably a mistake, which I repeated in every reply after that. My point is why automatically blame the US side in the absence of evidence? We all know Filipinos love to invite people over for any old reason, and that reason usually has to do with some kind of clout. Having a literal random American diplomat present lends credibility somehow in Filipino thinking. We don’t know all the details, and I think it unwise to shoehorn stuff that fits the narrative that we already believe.
And not all mistakes are equal in degree or severity. If the ICI and/or the US Embassy was innocently misguided in their judgement, then fine, they screwed up, they need to return to proper protocol and let’s move on. What really irks me is assigning a greater degree of “accountability” to something that is clearly (at this point per ICI and Marcos’ statements) is minor. Making everything the biggest deal when it is not cheapens the capacity for action when something more serious needs actual addressing. It is tiring. It has nothing to do with the far-left, though I do detest their penchant to make every molehill a mountain.
I blame both the US and the Philippines. Both were there. Both can do better. I don’t think the Philippines acts strong enough. I don’t trust Trump’s foreign policy. If this meeting was kiss-ass by President Marcos to stay in Trump’s good graces then kudos to President Marcos. I tip my hat to him and laugh at the state of the world.
I think I have laid out what probably happened from the video quite clearly. Sometimes it seems like the time I spend to reply in detail isn’t fully read nor digested, which makes me question why I put in the effort.
From the video this episode is probably a case of the ICI inviting the American delegation on matters related to future trade, and that was misguided. It was also misguided for the American delegation to attend. A “courtesy call” implies no agenda and is just a warm body being present out of respect. In this case the American side showing up as normally friends don’t snub each other’s invitations. Trying to read anything else beyond that seems to just be pure speculation, and getting angry over speculation is unwise. If actual damning evidence comes out later, then sure, let’s be outraged then.
So where in all this the US can be blamed, or even the ICI can be blamed, makes no sense to me. Again, the only people harping on the incident is the far-left and DDS. Continuing to hammer on what appears to will be a non-issue only hurts the pro-democracy cause and hurts the Marcos administration’s attempts to shore up Filipino democracy and protect the sovereignty you’re concerned about. Which country is more of a threat to the sovereignty of the Philippines? The hurt feelings of a few far-lefties who have always crapped on the US, or the PRC which as I repeatedly have said are the actual threat?
I have no clue why you’re being so stubborn on this Joe. Let’s not be blinkered on minor details when there are bigger problems to deal with. Namely China. Ongoing Pro-DDS coup attempts that Teodoro and Brawner have repeatedly felt the urgent need to speak out strongly on since September. Sara possibly becoming president in 2028.
Anyway, I also have issues to deal with here as our group will be traveling to a sensitive area again soon. I have been reminded again in Ukraine that Ukrainians focus on actual problems and actual enemies rather than imagined problems and imagined enemies.
“Probably” is supposition.
What position do you wish me to take? That the Philippines should not care about standing tall as an independent, sovereign nation? I’ve held the same position for years. I believe the Philippines should manage its alliances, not be managed by them. If it is stubborn to believe that principle, then color me stubborn, because I believe it is the right approach to take, 100%. US intrusion into domestic justice activities is a violation of the principle.
If ICI’s Justice Carpio (whom you have little regard for, but I do) or Justice Reyes (appointed by Duterte) said, “Well, Joe, we wanted to show them our good works so we stay off the gray list and encourage US investments” I’d say, “Very good your honor, but you have let the dog into the hen house and not helped reduce corruption one whit”.
I appreciate the time you take to comment here. I don’t understand why you are so stubborn in not seeing how it is in Philippine best interest to be strong in managing alliances.
ICI probers. Yes, we should give them space to work, and have confidence in their good intent.
same with president marcos, I’d give him space to work, he has nothing to hide and even allowed the american ambassador to visit ICI, not because he was kissing pattoties, but being transparent.
if the american ambassador wants to find out for himself, sans smiling politicians and their ever accommodating hangers on, how well or how badly US aids had been used, I can understand why some sections of our society wants to keep americans vehemently in the dark. their reason: america is rich country and ought to be plundered. but US aids are for the poor and needy, not for the pockets of greedy politicians and their ilk currently involved in the scams.
if ICI also keeps americans in the dark and reveal nothing amiss of US aids, then americans will get their confirmation.
the trick, dont ask questions you dont already know the answers. hearing the answers from the mouths of the babes ( ICI’s babe singson not the intent) would bring home the point.
in a way, this is our zelensky moment. butt heads, or acquiesce.
In my view, it was a mistake that makes the Philippines look like America’s lackey.
the american ambassador visited ICI and already you made us lackey, ah, we have been provided a taste of what is to come.
asean forum 2025 has been breached and no longer limited to just asean nations. the gate crashers are top officials from russia, china, canada, brazil, australia and even the south african president cyril ramaphosa will be there. the first female president of japan, the former punk and rock chick, will also be there. sovereignties are buoyant even our own and can be lessened up to a point. treaties almost always lessened sovereignty.
any moves from china, russia, north korea et al, as regard security in the west phil sea and the disregard china has for peace and order in the region will be met with resistance mainly for us and the united states.
as well, any mention of the scams currently hugging the philippines in order to belittle us and deny us economic advancement in the eyes of the world, will be meet with scorn for which among the attending nations did not have on going corruptions happening in their own country!
ASEAN is a woeful organization, for sure. President Marcos has been masterful at pressing for ASEAN unity against China’s illegal intrusions while actively pursuing one-on-one alliances in Asia, Europe, Australia, and Canada. Corruption is real and a huge albatross for the Philippines, as demonstrated by South Korea’s cancelling of loan arrangements. The nation has a lot riding on ICI achievements, and these are best demonstrated by getting thieves in jail, not doing PR stunts with the US. Japan is amazing. I wish the punk rock chick well, for sure. Japan will likely be the Philippines top ally as the US declares war on Venezuela, Canada, Columbia, Greenland, Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago and elsewhere. The US will not be focused like a laser on Asia, and can be expected to dump the Philippines if Xi plays his cards as effectively as Putin played his over Ukraine.
at asean, we can expect a showdown. china with russia and its lackeys backing with india and south africa added to the mix will be summat aggressive in pursuing their goal.
united states and its lackeys (presumably) australia, japan, korea and philippines to a lesser extend will also show that they are not passive.
if united states is to dump philippines, it would have to breach our solid as rock treaty agreement and we would be paid indemnity. there is penalty for breaching treaties.
united states cannot afford to lose any more allies in the asia pacific, its power and influence in the region diminished, its trade, commerce, and right of passage affected as well.
Trump is not a rational or law abiding man. If I were Xi, I’d give Trump some big wins (promise not to attack Taiwan) and explain that the Philippines is corrupt, unreliable, and does nothing for the US. Then I’d press forward to take the Sierra Madre, build at Scarborough, control the seas, start drilling for oil off Palawan, and move somehow into the Philippine Sea to the east.
President Marcos has been masterful at pressing for ASEAN unity..
———
With his contemporaneous speech, he seems to be genuinely patriotic and has a quality of a statesman unlike the one from Davao. I do hope that the code of conduct for the South China Sea is ready and will be ratified soon. The Chinese seems to be too aggressive in implementing their ADIZ .
He is statesmanlike but I think ASEAN is too weak and disjointed to adopt a Code of Conduct. He will try though, for sure.
You mentioned Zelensky of Ukraine where there’s actually US evolvement in combating corruption before the 2022 Russian invasion . Only it went awry when US foreign policy got diverted to self interest by some US politicians.
The US diplomat might be taking some observation our fact finding committee’s function vs the US Independent Counsel.
The US along with EU have continued to work with Ukraine to reduce corruption for the specific purpose of getting Ukraine ready to join the European Union. Nothing went awry with personal engagement by politicians (I assume you are referring to President Biden’s son, which is MAGA propaganda and irrelevant to state-to state work). The attached article provides a good brief on things. I think the EU will carry the work forward because Trump has cut USAID and is more on Russia’s side, or rather, his own side as a foreign policy blunderer.
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/how-west-helping-ukraine-anti-corruption-reforms
Here’s another article that shows the Biden Administration as being tough with Ukraine on corruption. There was no let-up.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/02/biden-admin-ukraine-strategy-corruption-00119237
Thanks for the link. Yes I followed the congressional hearing on this issue . How the Blue Star Strategies lobbied for Burisma covertly to influence foreign policy.
Here is a detailed review of that matter for readers who may have an interest. Hunter Biden was convicted of federal gun charges in June 2024 and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in September 2024. He was pardoned for these convictions by his father.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/03/blue-star-burisma-justice-department-investigation-491681
Here is a brief on Russia using Biden’s son and other issues to influence US elections. Russia got Trump elected. The US is now living with the result.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/04/biden-burisma-and-ukraine-why-moscows-evolving-narrative.html
Thanks you sir for those link. Here’s the US Senate report on this matter.
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/HSGAC_Finance_Report_FINAL.pdf
It is a political document used for political ambitions. Witch hunt document.
Bottom line: How will it serve the Philippines interests. Unfortunately it is quid quo pro that most often is unbalanced reciprocity.
That’s true. Interests do not always match up, but the US and Philippines are very very similar. That’s why that Embassy visit to the ICI was off the mark. The Philippines is properly sensitive about sovereignty after having had big countries wanting to run the Philippines. The US should understand that and avoid being seen as intrusive.
On Trump’s interest who will be the next to be deported. Are there US contractors? US Banks?
Bad Bunny, lol.
lol
He was allowed by NFL to perform at half time. Then let us see.
Bad Bunny is a natural born US citizen and American, which cannot be said for First Lady Melania Trump is an immigrant who is a naturalized US citizen who had some suspicious visa activity prior to becoming a permanent resident (green card).
So she must be next.
melania cannot be deported, if trump wants to get rid of her, he would just have to assassinate her! she has very smart lawyers who did her prenup and if she goes or got divorced from trump, she is mostly likely to run away with a sizeable chunk of trump’s empire. as well her son, barron trump, is reputed to be the richest of trump’s children, a crypto whiz who has already amassed a fortune in cryptos at such a young age.
even elon musk who was born in south africa cannot be deported. musk has too much leverage vs trump.
OT: President Quezon’s grandson (not MLQ3 who is still silent) rages (somehow remiscent of the historical Quezon) against the team that produced the recent movie about Quezon.
https://x.com/Joaquin88206284/status/1981361854447579136
I don’t know him. No artistic effort worth anything goes uncriticized. David is naked after all, lol.
https://www.rappler.com/philippines/zeneida-nini-quezon-avancena-dies/ he is the son of Nini Avancena, Quezon’s daughter.
Secretary Abaya (yes, PNoy’s cabinet) also had to deal with how his great-grandfather (President Aguinaldo) was portrayed in the Heneral Luna movie back in 2015, seems his kids asked him and all. A lot of the Buencaminos hated how their ancestor was portrayed in that film.. by their cousin no less.
🇵🇭 MANIFESTO FOR A NATIONAL RESET
A Call to Reclaim the Filipino Nation from Corruption, Weakness, and External Threats
To our beloved countrymen,
We, the undersigned citizens of the Republic of the Philippines, stand at a historic crossroads. Our nation, rich in heritage and potential, is being suffocated by the stranglehold of corruption, dynastic politics, and systemic decay. The very institutions meant to serve the people have been captured by self-serving elites who have betrayed the public trust.
We do not seek chaos. We do not seek violence. We seek renewal—a peaceful, constitutional, and moral National Reset.
⚖️ The Crisis We Face
🛡️ Our Solution: A National Reset
We propose a one-year constitutional transition to a Federal Parliamentary Government, followed by a 10-year period of national stabilization and reform. This Reset will be guided by the following principles:
1. Constitutional Reform
2. Accountability and Restitution
3. Interim Governance by the AFP and PNP
4. Leadership Continuity
5. Democratic Transition
🌏 Why This Reset Is Urgent
We are not only fighting internal decay—we are facing external threats that demand a strong, unified, and modernized Republic.
✊ Our Call to Action
We call on:
Let us unite for a New Philippines—strong, sovereign, and just.
Mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas 2.0 The RESET!
Thanks for the outline Ronoldo. I wish you well on the effort. Kindly don’t use this blog to promote it further. Do give us updates, if you’d like. Info, not sales, if you catch my drift.
OT again: thread by Dominic Ligot, review of Quezon:
https://x.com/docligot/status/1981743178127663166 here it goes:
Ok guys, I feel compelled to write this review… not as a historian or even a film critic… but out of a personal need to re-anchor Jerrold Tarog’s trilogy within a broader conversation about the un-defining and re-defining of heroism. Because that, to me, is what these films are really about.
I grew up with stories of heroes. I don’t mind their deconstruction, in fact, I welcome it. However, I tend to hate one-dimensional characters. Maybe it’s a Gen X thing, but for me, when you tear someone down, it’s supposed to be in search of a gem of truth behind the noble lie. Yet watching these films, I found myself wondering if we’ve started to forget that second part.
I also suspect the younger audience… judging from the social media chatter… might be misunderstanding what the trilogy is trying to do. I get it. Back in the day, I too cheered whenever something subverted the neat narratives of History 101. (Remember Bayaning 3rd World?) But shock value and critical insight aren’t always the same thing.
And no, I don’t think it’s fair to judge these films on historicity alone. They’re not biopics or documentaries. Tarog himself admits to taking creative liberties for the sake of storytelling. So what’s left for us to evaluate is precisely that: the narrative.
Btw spoilers. And this will be longer than usual. No one is obligated to read it. I’m writing it more to get it out of my system.
General Sentiments
Let’s get this out of the way: the Heneral Luna–>Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral–>Quezon trilogy is one of the most ambitious cinematic undertakings in Philippine film. It is gorgeously shot, superbly acted, and immaculately scored. It attempts what few have dared… to tackle our nation’s mythic heroes without the safety net of reverence.
But after the halo effect fades and the patriotic applause dies down, one has to ask: what was the point?
There are, after all, three versions of every film… the one the creator meant to make, the one they actually made, and the one the audience sees. Jerrold Tarog’s trilogy is no different. He tells us it’s up to viewers to draw their own interpretations. Fair enough. But if the omissions were made “for narrative purposes,” then the narrative itself deserves interrogation.
Because what began as a bold deconstruction of heroism may have ended as a hollow exercise in cynicism.
Deconstructing Heroes
From his self-admission, Tarog’s trilogy takes its cue from Nick Joaquin’s A Question of Heroes, which dismantled the bronze statues of Philippine history and revealed the flawed mortals beneath. The first two films, Luna and Goyo, embody that spirit with precision. But what happens when deconstruction becomes the default lens… when all our “heroes” are reduced to caricatures of failure?
Antonio Luna, for instance, is stripped to his temper. We see flashes of his intellect and discipline, but these are drowned by depictions of arrogance and rage. The film succeeds in humanizing him but fails to contextualize him. His tragedy is treated less as a product of a fractured Republic and more as the personal undoing of a man who couldn’t control his fury.
Gregorio del Pilar, on the other hand, becomes the archetype of youthful vanity. The “Boy General” is portrayed as Aguinaldo’s golden pet… a devoted yet naive soldier who dies not for country, but for a man. His sacrifice at Tirad Pass, rebranded as tragic heroism, is revealed as blind loyalty. We are meant to mourn him but also pity him.
And then there’s Manuel L. Quezon, the supposed culmination of this cycle. The problem is, Nick Joaquin never wrote about him in A Question of Heroes… and perhaps for good reason. Without that philosophical backbone, Quezon feels unmoored. We watch a narcissistic statesman maneuver through American politics, but without the moral gravity of the first two films, the final installment becomes more about surface mimicry than substance.
Ironically, IMO it’s Aguinaldo who evolves most across the trilogy… from villain to victim to ghost. Luna, Goyo, and Quezon remain static archetypes.
Only Joven Hernando, the fictional journalist (representing the audience), seems to learn anything… moving from idealism to disillusionment to weary pragmatism.
Narrative Misses
At least to me, Tarog’s trilogy is both a triumph of craft but a failure of conviction. Unfortunately I was expecting something I did not find (that’s on me maybe).
The first two films work precisely because they are contained within tragedy. Luna and Goyo both end in death, allowing the audience to drown unresolved questions in emotion. But Quezon needed to transcend that. It should have shown how the ideals of Luna and Goyo mutate into the realpolitik of nation… building. Instead, Quezon emerges not as a synthesis of their failures but as another kind of failure… vanity wearing a barong.
The problem isn’t the pessimism… it’s the incompleteness. Quezon was Aguinaldo’s aide-de-camp during the Revolution; the trilogy could have traced his ideological evolution from foot soldier to politician. Instead, that connective tissue is missing. The supposed narrative arc… from idealism to pragmatism to statehood… flatlines.
And so for me, the trilogy, for all its brilliance, leaves us adrift. We understand how heroes fall, but not why they matter.
What Did We Really Achieve?
By the end of Quezon, one wonders if Tarog achieved what he set out to do. If the goal was to demystify our heroes, mission accomplished. But if the goal was to provoke reflection on what kind of heroism we need now… then perhaps something vital was lost.
Luna’s brutal idealism fails. Goyo’s blind faith fails. But Quezon’s egotistical pragmatism succeeds? What lesson are we meant to take from that? That greatness lies not in virtue but in vanity? That we should accept the strongman as our savior, so long as he delivers results?
If Quezon… vain, shrewd, morally compromised… could still lead us to independence, does that mean our current crop of politicians deserves the same indulgence?
That’s the danger of Tarog’s trilogy. In its zeal to dismantle our heroes, it forgets to build anything in their place. What remains is a vacuum… a beautifully rendered elegy to failure.
The trilogy teaches us how easily idealism curdles into cynicism. What it doesn’t teach us is how to rebuild faith.
Missed Opportunities
If Tarog’s trilogy had one great missed opportunity, it was this: to close the circle. Luna and Goyo stripped the bronze off our heroes, but Quezon never showed us what to build from the ruins. Here was a chance to explore how the fiery idealism of Luna and the blind faith of Goyo might have evolved… warped even… into Quezon’s brand of pragmatic nationalism. Instead, we were left with three disconnected portraits of failure, each illuminating, but none transformative.
Quezon’s story could have been the bridge… the man who survived the revolution, learned its lessons, and reshaped them into governance. But the film never dared ask how the cost of independence was not just blood, but the moral compromise that came with politics. Without that reckoning, we are left circling the same question: was Quezon’s vanity the price of freedom, or its undoing?
The trilogy shows us how our heroes fell… but not how a nation should rise after them.
Maybe Tarog wants us to fill in the blanks?
(In the era of socmed trolls, good luck with that though)
Why These Questions Matter Now
You might ask, why does any of this still matter? Because today, truth itself is a battlefield.
We live in an era when artificial intelligence can fabricate “truths” faster than we can fact-check them. Deepfakes and algorithmic narratives are rewriting memory, just as revisionists once did with textbooks. In such a time, how we tell stories about our past… and who we choose to call “hero”… becomes an act of national defense.
Tarog’s films remind us how easily heroism can be distorted by charisma, loyalty, or propaganda. But they also risk teaching the next generation that all heroes are frauds, that every ideal ends in betrayal. And that, in an age of disinformation and corruption, is a dangerous kind of surrender.
If we no longer believe in the possibility of integrity, how do we even begin to hold the powerful accountable? When corruption scandals erupt and leaders posture as necessary evils, we need stories that remind us truth is worth struggling for… not myths that teach us to settle for cynicism.
The Tarog trilogy could have been that reminder. It still can be… if we learn to read it not as the death of heroism, but as a warning: when we stop defining what it means to be good, someone else… some algorithm, some corrupt system… will define it for us.
I never knew John Arcilla was also a grandson. I will look for his comments.
https://www-philstar-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.philstar.com/entertainment/2025/10/25/2482433/manuel-quezons-kin-john-arcilla-tba-studios-respond-film-backlash/amp/?amp_js_v=0.1&_gsa=1#webview=1
Interesting that the actor gets where the family is coming from. Also, had the producers consulted the family on it, my guess is the movie would have been different. I’m inclined to shrug. It’s a movie, not a documentary. Outlaw cowboys were never as handsome as Redford and Newman.
Well put!
Quezon was definitely the most handsome President the Philippines had. Magsaysay was tall and had enormous presence.
For some Filipinos, the conclusion will be, might as well forget the men of honor who weren’t perfect and go for scoundrels.
America’s idea of Republic also didn’t lose anything from Gore Vidal’s novel Burr, which kind of showed traitor Aaron Burr’s perspective.
In that novel I only remember vaguely, George Washington was shown as a power-hungry man Burr wanted to stop from being a new King.
America also survived the movie that showed Jefferson as having a slave mistress nickname “Dusky Sally” and having kids with her.
I don’t know where the kind of deconstruction movies like this are doing will go in a country where some mocked VP Leni doing the honors of the Independence Day when President Duterte didn’t as a “mere flag ceremony”, though maybe, maybe, the “buy-in” to the Republic founded back in the time of Quezon is already lost, time for the opposition to NOT let Dutertistas define how the future will look like.
I think Filipinos have to find honor from within themselves rather than from actors and tennis players, then they’ll demand real change rather than a new set of actors. If you were to compile the average Filipino today, cheating and church would reside side by side.
when I think of how Quezon dealt with things, he had at least a certain old school code of honor. I don’t know what is the purpose of deconstructing that.
Hmmm. didn’t your late father write something half-joking about “can we at least have honor among thieves”?
What a terrific review. Brilliant.
It seems to me the thieves hereabouts do actually think they are honorable.
But is there really Honor among thieves, whistle-blower and state witness aspirants abound.
In the case of Lozada he was imprisoned for his work in the forrestry Bureau and if that was to get back for his ZTE whistke blowing, I do not know.
Good question. I think not.
Oh yes thanks for that he wrote a whole essay about that.
BTW more on the movie
https://entertainment.inquirer.net/635277/fdcp-chair-joey-reyes-greatly-disturbed-after-watching-quezon
If I may paste the whole essay.
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
Plaridel C. Garcia, Class 59
Honor among thieves is an adage that is often deprecated as something a hell of a lot less than honor among gentlemen. Actually, as virtue or vice, we shall be lucky to be laced with it.Professional thieves are known to have a word of honor to each other. The price of violating that word is exposure from his fellows if not death. Many would leave mementos behind even if framed in gold. Returning the loot is a badge of honor. Before modern times, the Caesars often assumed that the savages they conquered or engaged in battle kept their word. A verbal cease-fire or truce was often honored. It lost its currency when the civilized legions violated the honor of the barbarians with impunity.Honor among thieves with Cosa Nostra and similar organizations assumed more than a code of silence (omerta) but subjective norms. One mafia family could decree that drugs are not to be a part of its operations because Mama Mia would cry to imagine her bambinos as victims of the vice. Others would bribe politicians but not judges. Irish rebel groups would not corrupt the police because many Irish families have traditionally enlisted.If the Philippines is one of the most corrupt nation in the world, perception or reality or both, honor among thieves could be its saving grace. Thus, “moderate your greed” has been trivialized. In the street slang of the young “over” is a translation of “sobra”. Of course “moderate” or “over” is a moving target. Purists would also insist that stealing one peso is the same as stealing one million. But if that is so, then the rich is the same as the poor. Behind every fortune is a crime!In the armed services, military and police, honor is crying out to be salvaged. For quite some time we quibbled that dishonorable deeds are only for some 10 percent, sometimes called “scalawags” by scalawags, themselves. External perception however, went as high as 90 percent. Perhaps the truth is somewhere between. Whatever it is, we know we have a problem.“Conversion” we re-invented to compensate for archaic accounting and auditing regulations developed to be a celebrated scheme for graft and corruption. Because we did it to “take care of our men” and “accomplish the mission”, it should not have gone too far astray for honorable men. But we instead lynch the comptroller family for it as if we would refuse an assignment to it and as if we did not know that comptrollers were but tools of command, literally and figuratively. Thus, we have “comptroller generals” as scarecrows and scapegoats. But I knew at least one who asked to be relieved as Comptroller of a major service. His classmates accuse him after retirement of unexplained poverty.Recently, we have so-called “euro generals”. A top-rated commentator lamented not for PMA graduates not having integrity but for “stupidity”. That was adding insult to injury.It is never too late to go back to our roots. The PMA honor system is not a matter of virtue but of duty. To develop integrity as a virtue is a “from the cradle” evolution. It is too much to expect virtuous men after 4 years. Alas, we even dismissed plebes in the beast barracks after a few weeks for so-called “honor violation”. What a waste of potentially honorable men!Academy Integrity should be more a matter of duty than of virtue. Thus in the older academies it goes together with duty and country. It is not a question of lowering standards but of setting the right ones.After quite some time, I wrongly desisted from wearing my class ring and singing the Alma Mater Song. In a TV program, I confessed that I did not feel deserving laced by disillusionment with cavaliers that I might have wrongly judged to be more undeserving.Now I wear my ring again and sing the Hymn with fervor once more, not because I became more honorable but because I realize that the Alma Mater Song is a haunting prayer for men of integrity. I sing to pray if only for honor among thieves.When we were plebes we raided the cadet kitchen under cover of darkness and in the pangs of hunger. Our locator card was unmarked. Technically by tradition a non-honor violation but intrinsically a serious violation of “Do you intend to deceive”? But we did something honorable as a saving grace. We did not touch the newly-delivered hot pan de sal. We respected the dignity of the Corps of Cadets with apologies to the pigs that were deprived of left- over.That was honor among thieves
Looking from another line of sight.
https://www.inquirer.net/458587/brawner-ph-still-a-target-even-without-edca-sites/
I think he is absolutely correct. The EDCA sites are more deterrent than target.
If beware of Dog or cctv on site even “Have gun will travel” work as a deterrent why not EDCA?
Exactly!
In a somewhat related note re EDCA and some aversion by some, my dad wrote this more than twenty years ago.
Appreciating foreign
military assistance
By Plaridel C. Garcia
On the much-publicized US military aid package, Bubble Gang may have something to say. To the foreign aid they would say “Alien!” To the amount of the assistance “Raise the roof!” The dollar ceiling, if you please!
The spin gang’s spoof of “Amen” and “Praise the Lord” is a not so divine comedy. But it is the worst kept secret of our national security.
To be sure, from $1.9 million since 1991 to $22.1 million in 2001 and $70.2 million in 2002 is nothing to sneeze at. It is not only the two-year total of P 4.2 billion, stupid! To our national psyche—aminin!—American help is on the way. Sixty years after the Fall of Bataan, we are still awaiting the mile-long convoy. During the Visiting Forces Agreement brouhaha, President Estrada said the issue was a matter of “security” while the abrogation of the US bases agreement was about “sovereignty.” During the debates in 1991, political rhetoric promised that local help was on the way. It hasn’t come, not nine months later, not nine years later.
Perhaps that was why President Gloria personally received the first deliveries of the aid package. They were an old C-130 B and two older Point Class patrol boats. It is right to be grateful for whatever comes to help our equipment-starved AFP. It is also politically right for the silent majority to be reassured, subconsciously or consciously, that the American eagle is somewhere in the blue yonder. It is interesting that in Defense Policy 1998, the strategic approach was “Defense Self Reliance and Cooperation.” We have bilateral arrangements not only with the US, but with Australia and eight other countries.
The Australian assistance has not received the national recognition that it deserves! In the last decade we may have received more than $1.9 million a year. Hardly heard of was the delivery of two Search and Rescue (SAR) vessels to the Coast Guard, costing $38 million. It was at least 35 percent grant and the balance as a very concessional soft loan. In 2002-03, six vessels in the amount of $70 million in loans and grants will be coming.
Japan, the donor of earlier SAR vessels may provide replacements.
So far it has provided the Coast Guard a buoy-tender costing $38 million and another unit on the way (not military aid, technically). Another is the Spanish assistance to our Bureau of Fisheries for fish monitoring equipment and vessels. All items have five-year supply and maintenance packages. Certainly, we could be more appreciative of donors especially those who are not the world’s richest nations. Another example is South Korea who gave us old vessels at $100 per unit powered by Mercedes Benz engines.
Surely, we should appreciate a C-130 B. We have only two ope-rational transport aircrafts, one on a bad day, according to Secretary of National Defense Angelo Reyes. We need 30,000 usable rifles to replace old ones and when we recruit an additional 20,000 troops. The Navy is not exactly unhappy with two patrol boats and a cyclone patrol boat that are more than 20 years and 10 years old respectively.
If I recall correctly, the cyclone boat was worth $15 million a decade ago. It must be an un-depreciated book value.
I am not sure whether these vessels are armed or not. Just a simple new 25mm gun requires special batteries and an electronic control board. I worry about the maintenance of these vessels. The cyclone boat is an anti-narcotics vessel running at 35 kilowatts, if the engines are operating. We acquired three Peacock vessels from the United Kingdom, Hong Kong delivered, by Prince Charles at reasonable prices. But how about their maintainability?
The piece de resistance of the US military aid package could therefore be the new interesting items of Department of Defense draw down of $10 million, anti-narcotics provision of $10 million and the foreign military assistance fund of $19 million, revealed by Reyes. Operation and maintenance of foreign assistance equipment and facility is a national tragedy.
If the “wish list” submitted by the Philippine government would succeed some more in this area, then we could be more appreciative! Because if we ever “modernize” on our own resources we have yet to operate and maintain them a hell of a lot better than we do whatever we have now.
I do sincerely hope the policymakers in the Palace are privately aware of and closely watching how the so-called remaining superpower is conducting itself within an international community slowly becoming cautious or suspicious of each other. That they should have enough sense to work out contingency plans not only dealing with an increasingly hawkish Mainland China but also a possible collapse of the US whereupon dependence will have to reduced in favor of greater regional cooperation, so as to lessen the pain of an economic disaster that could come with societal destabilization.
About the subject in question: if he’s here to attend ICI functions, perhaps it has to do with how much that loony real estate mogul wants to dole aid money (as if the destruction of USAID wasn’t enough and instead wants to meddle more with, say, Argentine politics for cheap beef) and thus need to know the extent of damage corruption had eroded public confidence in government agencies, which would then require a reassessment of aid allocation in line with that mogul’s “America First” policy.
Yes, I agree there need to be contingency plans that consider the US may no longer be reliable. Also, yes the Embassy meeting with ICI could be an instruction from Washington to assertively insert the US into Philippine affairs for any number of possible reasons.