Former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has reiterated his support for the administration’s “recalibrated” foreign policy, saying the Philippines can stand on its own feet even without the aid from other countries.

Estrada backed President Rodrigo Duterte’s dare to the United States (US), the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) to withdraw their foreign assistance to the country amid continued criticisms against the government’s bloody war on drugs.

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“Matagal na tayong independent, lahat sila nakikiaalam. Ngayon kung hihingi tayo ng tulong sa kanila, ‘yun….Mga bobo ba mga Filipino (We have been an independent country for a long time now, all of them are meddling [in our affairs]. They can do such if we would ask help from them. Are Filipinos dumb)?” Estrada said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Kaya naman natin kung talagang magsisikap tayo, e. Magpapalimos na lang ba tayo habambuhay (We could stand on our own feet if we would persevere. Are we going to beg forever)?” he added.

Estrada said the Philippines can be self-reliant only if Filipinos will rally behind the President and be more compassionate for their countrymen.

“Kamukha ng Vietnam, mahirap na mahirap. Bakit ngayon mas malakas pa sa atin? Nag-e-export pa ng bigas ngayon (Vietnam used to be a poor country. Why is it that they are more powerful than us now? It exports rice now),” he said.

“Tulung-tulong lang tayong malagay sa ayos ang ating bansa. Wala kasi tayong malasakit sa ating bansa (Let us cooperate in uplifting our country. We lack compassion for our country),” Estrada added.

Duterte has launched a series of tirades against the US, the EU, and UN for calling him out on alleged extrajudicial killings and human rights violations in the government’s relentless antinarcotics campaign. He belittled as “crumbs” the donations that the Philippines has been receiving from the foreign bodies.

“Mamili kayo (You choose) — the crumbs of the favor of other nations, mag-asa lang tayo sa assistance nila (we just depend on their assistance), or we make a stand that this country must survive, that this country must see to it that the next generation is protected?” Duterte said in his speech last week. RAM

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