Prof. Contreras, Said's Orientalism and Mr. Duterte as "disruptor" of Said's Orientalism: How an Academic Tries to be a PR practitioner

I pity DLSU professor Antonio Contreras. In his attempt at defending Mr. Duterte, Prof. Contreras even went to the extent of dragging the innocent Edward Said into the ridiculous fray. Contreras went to great lengths writing 3/4's of his Manila Times column on Said's "Orientalism", eventually asserting in the end, that Mr. Duterte is a "disruptor" when he allegedly "defied orientalism" by "not seeking affirmation in a world that is structurally hostile to his natural as a President of the Filipinos."

Such bold and sweeping generalizations, Prof. Since when did the world become "structurally hostile" to a "President of the Filipinos" ? Really now, "not seeking affirmation"? If Mr. Duterte did not really intend to "seek" affirmation, then, why sing? 

Wanting to please his master, Contreras tried to defend Mr. Duterte's "singing" before US president Donald Trump as Mr. Duterte's way of interpreting or pursuing Mr. Said's Orientalism see this link.

Prof. Contreras wrote, and I am lifting his own words from the online version to here so that we can discuss this rather at length:

"And while it may appear incongruous to the image of a singing Digong obliging the “command” of Trump, I would argue that Said’s orientalism has created a space upon which people like the President could thrive, not as propagators, but as disruptors of a mindset which Said has clearly criticized."

Okey. What is the proof of this "disruption"?

"President Duterte did not play to the orientalist world view of international diplomacy. He sang not to please Trump, but to show him our nature as a people. He defies orientalism by not seeking affirmation in a world that is structurally hostile to his natural as a President of the Filipinos."

Huh. Can you repeat what you just said, Prof. Contreras?

"But President Duterte has created a new modality for resisting neo-colonialist, orientalist impositions. He doesn’t play by the rules. On matters of foreign policy, he spoke not in servitude, but in defiance. He negotiated from a position of strength. He never demanded equal treatment from the West using their rubrics and lenses. He never sought affirmation from them, knowing fully well that it would simply lead him into buying into the logic of the deeply embedded structures of Western biases."

And what new modality did Mr. Duterte, your principal, created? By singing or obliging to sing, Mr. Duterte did not play by the rules and instead, on matters of foreign policy, he spoke not in servitude, but in defiance? Prof. Contreras, described Mr. Duterte "negotiated from a position of strength"?

Two things: first, Duterte sang in a gala dinner. We can argue ad infinitum that the gala dinner is part of diplomacy and somewhat it is, but you cannot get a firm commitment on some trade or political matter while gorging on pork ribs? Second, Mr. Duterte "negotiated from a position of strength" when he sang? Are you referring to that burst of filthy air from Mr. Duterte's infected lungs when he bruited out the lyrics of that classic Pinoy song?

Really now. Can the good Professor cite some examples of how and where did Mr. Duterte negotiated from strength? Follow and read all these links and tell me, Prof. Contreras when exactly did Mr. Duterte negotiated on a position of strength? 

• https://www.dailystarph.com/ph-china-to-have-joint-venture-in-west-philippine-sea-duterte/
• https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/01/13/as-duterte-bows-to-china-can-japan-make-inroads/
• http://asianjournal.com/editorial/after-the-un-tribunal-legal-victory-should-the-ph-negotiate-with-china-on-the-west-philippine-sea/
• Is this negotiating from a position of strength: see https://www.rappler.com/nation/187765-duterte-china-clarify-plans-west-philippine-sea
• http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/12/1758258/duterte-trusts-xi-word-buildup-disputed-sea-nothing
• http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/01/1754586/duterte-hopeful-china-will-stop-expansion-disputed-sea
• http://verafiles.org/articles/justice-carpio-tells-duterte-bring-un-xis-threat-go-war

There are still so many. Let's admit, shall we these evident truths about Mr. Duterte. Let's be a realist now. Let us not be misled by the contrived image of Mr. Duterte and let's be scholars.

1. Mr. Duterte, as early as last year, refuses to use the UNCLOS arbitral ruling as a leverage in its negotiations with China.
2. Mr. Duterte continues to play the war card as his reason for not engaging China as strongly as expected of him inspite of China already telling the world that it will not be using force to assert its West Philippine sea claims. Where did Mr. Duterte get that impression that China will bomb us if we don't agree with the reclamation China is now doing there at the West Philippine sea? 
3. Mr. Duterte is even proposing a joint exploration of these seas, in direct contravention of the Philippine Constitution

While Prof. Contreras is fond of dragging such an academic luminary like Said into the picture, even Fanon, and trying to convince Said that his boss Mr. Duterte is a disruptor of Orientalism, being a scholar, I think Said would surely disagree with him.

Being an "orientalist" does not mean going from a Western master to an "Oriental" one. One does not become an Orientalist by orienting yourself to the East. There are many who even live in the "east" but does not think as an Orientalist, right, Prof. Said? 

What Said said, which I think Prof. Contreras failed to read in his book, " Orientalism" is that this is not about a framework but a point of reference. It is about reclaiming the identity of those living in the East, in Asia after centuries of bad press from the West. 

Said wrote about cultural criticism--a tendency of someone from a different race interpreting another's culture based on his own cultural biases. And since when did Mr. Duterte interpreted foreign policy based on the Filipino perspective? 

That this is not about where you live in this side of the world, but where you think you are. That we have our own culture, our own mores and our own perspectives of looking into the world. It might not be as great as others, but the more important thing is that it is ours. 

Orientalism is reclaiming an identity lost, reframed and cleaned off its Western star dusts. 

It is about us, Filipinos, telling China, the United States and even our fellow ASEAN countries to scuttle off, those islets are ours by right under the UNCLOS and even by historical right.

It is about us, Filipinos, standing tall and telling Chinese president Xi to make certain his threat of bombing us to smithereens otherwise, just scuttle off to your Forbidden City.

This is not about Mr. Duterte singing to please Mr. Trump or his guest at the gala dinner. That is just a metaphor. 

This is about Mr. Duterte's real voice--his "real" singing which he showed when he was made part of the quartet led by the US in lambasting North Korea and telling it to respect THE UN. 

This is about Mr. Duterte agreeing on a Code of Conduct, which Mr. Duterte even agreed to be "negotiated" by Singapore, when in fact, those islets are ours by legal right as what UNCLS already decided and even by geographical proximity and by historic right. 

This is about Mr. Duterte practically wilting before other ASIAN powers, like a street thug normally does when confronted by rich and more intelligent thugs.

Again, let me ask Prof. Contreras--since when did Mr. Duterte interpreted foreign policy based on Filipino values and philosophical world-view? 

In contrast, Mr. Duterte has always considered China's feelings and China's claims against ours. Had Mr. Duterte been consistent, making reference to Filipino values and worldview every single time he faces the Chinese, the West Philippine sea would have been rightly resolved on our favor. 

Most Filipinos or actually ALL FILIPINOS, probably with the exception of Mr. Duterte, claim those islets as part of Philippine sovereignty and patrimony.

That explains why Mr. Duterte got 16 million votes because of the misperception that he would surely advance Filipino interests the minute he ascends the Presidency. Mr. Duterte even vowed to ride a jet sky and plant the flag of the Philippines only to be seen inside a Chinese ship later on as President. 

Prof. Contreras, please, don't misled us with your pseudo-intellectualism. As what my friend, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona always say whenever we spend those lazy Sunday afternoons in his New Manila house watching NBA games---" You can fool the people sometimes. Yet, you cannot fool the Filipino people all the time."