MERELY THE thought that the local court would mete a “not guilty” verdict on the 13 Vietnamese fishermen that were recently caught off Linapacan already leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

If this happens, we can already say goodbye to the families of the 101 turtles that they murdered because for sure, they’re coming back to empty them up.

Time and again, we’ve seen how our local courts sided with the enemy of the environment when they are foreigners, all for the sake of diplomatic ties – a bad pill that the Philippines is in utter need of given this inadequate economy that’s going to be dead if not for meager foreign assistances.

No doubt, Vietnam is one of the countries in Asia that is seeing a bright future. What was once below the Philippines in terms of development has already turned a tiger economy for its people. Check facts, they’ll tell you this. We’ve fallen way behind Vietnam.

If Thailand refuses to sell us rice, it’s Vietnam that comes to the rescue. How can we afford to lose such opportunity?

By falling way behind, we are at its mercy. No matter how small a problem, such as the arrest of their fishermen in our country’s territorial water, we have no choice but to give them the best diplomatic tie we could afford – free their fishermen.

Isn’t it going to be sad for the country if Vietnam pulls out of the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) knowing how much it needs to discover oil and natural gas to shore up its economy?

Well, as they say, beggars can’t be choosers. Expect the expected on the case of this new batch of Vietnamese poachers.