Some netizens believe that President Rodrigo Duterte’s independent foreign policy is now bearing fruit amid the US-Iran crisis.
On Wednesday, netizen Jaira Andrea shared a screenshot of some comments from the netizens who called Duterte a ‘political’ genius for distancing the country from the U.S military.
According to the screenshots posted by Andrea, one netizen said that the reason why President Duterte opposed the presence of the U.S military in the country is that the Philippines may become the target of America’s enemies.
“US po ang target ng Iran kaya nila bobombahin yung mga nasabing bansa syempre babawiin na din ng kabilang panig dafhil pati sila madadamay kaya nga ayaw ni DU30 na meron tayong US BASE sa pilipinas kung naalala nyoyung dating binalita para makawas tayo sa giyera kung sakaling magkaron man,” netizen Albert Rodriguez said.
Another netizen, Michael John Go called Duterte a ‘genius’ saying that despite the alliance between US, the President also befriended Russia and China to maintain the neutrality of the Philippines.
“This is why Duterte is a political genius. He well knows that we have this agreement with USA but get engage and friendly with Russia and China just so we can be neutral,” Go said.
“He knows that if the WW3 starts or the tension gets out of hand in the South China Sea, Philippines can be a battleground. People calls him moron, but he is really a political genius,” he added.
The post has gone viral on social media and now reached 10,000 shares.
It’s already known that President Duterte opposed any plans of the U.S to build bases in the Philippines.
In 2017, Duterte told the U.S to stop unloading arms in several parts of the country because it might put the Philippines in possible danger.
He made the statement after he was informed that US troops appear to be building a depot in the Philippines and unloading arms in Palawan, Pampanga and Cagayan De Oro.
“You place us all in danger. You do that and I will be there when you start building, even before you build the first post,” Duterte said.
In another interview, Duterte said that he wanted to remove any presence of foreign military troops in the Philippines.