Alice Quo?
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| Guo vadis? |
Her life was a blank until suddenly, she's running the whole damn show. To be fair, you could say the same for the spoiled scions of our political dynasties, many of whom haven't accomplished anything noteworthy except emerging from the right slit.
So who is she? Since she doesn't have much to say about her identity, the system has decided to pick one for her. How does "Chinese spy" sound? She looks the part. Can speak it too.
As funny as the jokes and memes have been about this whole "issue", it's quite disturbing when you think about it. The "Chinese spy" bit isn't what bothers me (she isn't) but the whole circus performance the powers that be have arranged for our entertainment. You can tell this is a show since they dragged her ass to the Senate because this is undoubtedly their purview, right? We can clap and laugh on cue like a good studio audience but on should analyze the undercurrents. What do they want us, the people, to think? Why her? Why now?
I'm no expert but I can think of a few things.
First of all, is she really a Chinese spy? Of course not. The Chinese aren't dumb. If they wanted to infiltrate our political system, such a high profile position (and an elected one at that) is not the way to do it. Think really hard. What do the Chinese gain from controlling the office of the mayor in Bamban, of all places? Control of the strategic sugarcane reserves?
Even if we were to accept the premise that she's a foreign puppet, are we seriously suggesting that the majority of the population of Bamban were tricked by the Chinese, and the latter left no trace? Was the system itself rigged? How? Nobody's asking, of course. The attention is oddly all on her.
I offer a simpler explanation. She was installed by the local Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) of whom she also has an interest in. POGOs are big money and rake in a lot of tax revenue. They bought her that office. We know people can be bought off. Power brokers will play along and marshal the votes needed for the right price. It was a marriage of convenience between the political system and the richest player in town. Having a stooge in office does wonders to help your business run smoother and avoid prying eyes. It's not that China installed this living enigma into office like some spy thriller, but rather that the dominant local interests, who happen to be Chinese, found it convenient to have a friend in a high place.
To me, Alice Guo is just your typical corrupt politician whose cozy with the local bigshots. I admit there's a non-zero chance that she is a spy but it's a tiny chance. The Chinese know there's more than one way to skin a cat. They've probably infiltrated us already in ways we don't know about. Corruption is the rule here and politicians sell out to anyone.
But it's depressing to think that even mere Chinese businessmen can get us now.
You might think that the Chinese government used the POGO to plant Alice then.. To that, I'm very sorry to say that there are many other POGOs in the country. What makes this one POGO in Bamban different? If the Chinese intelligence apparatus spreads its tendrils through these institutions, they're spoiled for choice.
We know the government won't get rid of POGOs. There's too much money in it.
Sinophobia
Now that I've offered a more likely explanation, what's the point of all this hysteria then? I'm sure you've noticed that Alice Guo is already treated as a spy by the talking heads.
I find it disturbing that a Philippine senator can so casually suggest that our electoral system, which we praise as the greatest gift God ever gave us, has been compromised by foreign powers. I also find it disturbing how the people have gone all in on Alice Guo being a spy without solid proof. The possibility that she's just a non-citizen isn't even considered anymore. We are treating this as if the worst case scenario has already happened.
What do the powers that be want us to think?
No need to beat around the bush. We're being taught to fear China - to hate China. Great forces are moving in the world and the Philippines is a pawn on the board. Whose pawn? Why, we're the pawn of our other frenemy, the United States of America.
If you've no stomach for "conspiracy theories", the piece ends here.
America has been spoiling for a fight with China for some time now. The Philippines is part of the ring physically surrounding and containing China, which includes Japan and South Korea. The Philippines is a weak country and it can't make deals with China without kuya America in the room. What does kuya say? The only language America seems to speak is escalation if the clown show in Europe is to be observed. So the Philippines has embarked on this campaign of provocation against China. Just a few weeks ago, human shields civilian fishermen were sent on a suicide run supposedly through a Chinese blockade. Did nobody find that odd? Duterte was on good terms with China but now we're stirring the pot. Why?
The average Filipino dislikes the Chinese but doesn't hate them. It would serve certain interests if the sentiment could be turned up a notch. Look at the big picture. Look at the things Senator Hontiveros and her ilk are implying. This is a very serious matter.
What I'm trying to say is that the Alice Guo program isn't for our amusement. We're the ones being programmed but for what?
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