Now I understand why she's a "first-class citizen of the United States"

Prof. Randy David hits the nail right on the head with this comment:

None of this, of course, means anything to President Macapagal, who prides herself in being among the first heads of state to enlist in the Bush-led posse against the Saddam Hussein regime. Philippine foreign policy under her presidency has been a steady reversal of whatever progress previous administrations had made toward cutting the American umbilical cord. We are back to the days when the United States chose our presidents for us, when our people could not imagine a life without Uncle Sam.

Thus, we are treated to the sad spectacle of a Filipino President seeking an electoral mandate by shamelessly presenting herself, in the memorable words of Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, as a "first class citizen of the United States." Of the many faults that the Macapagal administration has committed in the last two years and a half, this barefaced subservience to the United States is perhaps ultimately the most injurious to the life of our nation.

He's right, of course. Mrs. Arroyo has become too subservient to the US government, so much so that the relationship between the US and RP is not a partnership anymore… No, it's more like a one-sided, Master-and-Servant relationship to me.

I remember one time when US ambassador Francis Ricciardone criticized the Philippines for corruption in their courts and other gov't institutions. Very undiplomatic for an ambassador, many would say, but all Mrs. Arroyo and her officials did was smile and meekly accept the criticism from the US ambassador. Here's what Mr. Ricciardone said:

The number one barrier is "corruption, not just regarding the courts but also officials outside" the judiciary, he told reporters.

"Foreign investors have complained about that to me and to other ambassadors here (that) we have a real problem here," Ricciardone said.

"They want to make sure that foreigners and Filipinos alike and their Filipino partners can have equal access to the courts, to be assured of timely justice, that is not corrupted by people who work outside this system" or within it.

There were a few of GMA's allies who protested the US ambassador's remarks, but Mrs. Arroyo and her administration officials just swallowed their pride and told the media that Mr. Ricciardone is right and told the media that Mr. Ricciardone was right and admitted that there was massive corruption in the Philippines.

The reaction though was very different when the Japanese Ambassador Kojiro Takano "did a Ricciardone" and criticized the Arroyo administration for it's confusing business policies, corruption in high places and the peace and order situation in the country.

Mrs. Arroyo's reaction was swift and angry towards the Japanese ambassador. Mr. Takano tried to apologize for his remarks but Malacanang officials rejected the apology and proceeded to file a diplomatic protest against him.

Obviously, tameme lang si GMA kung si US ambassador Ricciardone ang bumira sa kanila, pero matapang siya kapag Hapon naman ang nagsalita. May double standard dito, diba?

Lastly, I'm not against any US military presence here and I strongly support Bush and America's "war on terror", but we really need to elect a Filipino president who is strong, independent and pro-"war on terror". We don't need a US poodle in Malacanang.