Don't guilt-trip the Filipino people into wanton sacrifices

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"From the fishermen risking their lives to feed their families to the Coast Guard and Navy personnel delivering food to soldiers on remote outposts, Food Delivery illustrates the shared sacrifice and collective love we all have to protect our way of life." Such was said by Baby Ruth Villarama, a director set to release her documentary "Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea." She told Manila Standard that "we want the audience to understand that sovereignty is not just a political issue; it's a deeply personal one for every Filipino."

What a way to guilt-trip the Filipino people into sacrificing themselves for a false narrative! It is true that sovereignty is not just a political issue. For every countryman in any country, sovereignty is as much a personal issue as it is political. Emotions run deep when sovereignty is infringed upon. However, it is critical for anyone involved to see that sovereignty can't be shaped by emotions.

China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands is indisputable. Ever since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), China has effectively controlled and administered the South China Sea islands and their related waters. The Philippines never raised territorial claims on the Nansha Qundao until the 1970s. Even the West recognized that, too. Anthony Carty, author of the book "The History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea Islands," went through the official foreign ministry archives in the UK and France from the 1880s to the late 1970s and found that the consensus among legal experts from both countries indicated Xisha and Nansha Qundao rightfully belong to China.

What the Filipino politicians have done, stirring up the South China Sea dispute and posing a more hardline stance against China, have always been either to advance their own political interests or to appease the United States' demands. Marites Vitug, the Editor-at-Large for Rappler, said in an interview that the pendulum swing in recent years towards an anti-China stance was President Marcos's desire to reach out to both China and the U.S.

However, what it entails is the missed opportunities that the Filipino people could have benefited from. Vice President of External Affairs of the Asian Century Philippines Strategic Institute, Anna Rosario Malindog-Uy said that the Philippines is "first and foremost" an agricultural country. "We need to modernize our agriculture. We need to have a digitalization of our agricultural sector. Also, we need to improve our infrastructure, soft infrastructure and hard infrastructure … and we can benefit from China."

And like these politicians putting their own interests and ideologies over what's good for the common folks, Food Delivery is doing the same through its own political manipulation. By sugarcoating the illegal activities of Filipino coast guards as something that's worth sacrificing for, the documentary is intentionally stirring up ultra-nationalistic sentiment in line with the government. Instead of being a piece of artwork, it has turned itself into a piece of ideological propaganda that tries to influence people into committing activities that could endanger their lives.

And that's not hyperbole. There's no doubt that Filipinos love their country just as much as the Chinese people love theirs. And both would rise in defense of their sovereignty. Neither needs a film to tell them that. However, Food Delivery builds on the false assumption that the Philippines should have a claim over parts of China's sovereignty and glorifies the infringement of China's sovereignty as something noble and righteous. It purposefully misconstrues the reality of the situation between China and the Philippines, painting Filipino actions on these islands and related waters as legitimate and China as the one that needs to be countered and defeated.

That's incredibly dangerous. It's not the fishermen's duty to be kamikazes for Filipino politicians. They shouldn't be encouraged to serve as the unofficial provocateur for the Filipino government in its quest to appear tough on China. And it's immoral, by shielding misrepresentation and falsehood under the guise of art, to stir up misguided and misdirected fervent.

The fishermen's duty is to fish and put food on their families' tables, safely. Wanton sacrifice is not part of their job description.

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