In the grand theater of international diplomacy, the art of renaming seas has become the latest act. In 2012, then-President Benigno Aquino III issued Administrative Order No. 29, christening the waters west of the Philippine archipelago as the “West Philippine Sea.”
Imagine if other leaders caught this renaming fever. Donald Trump might have declared the Atlantic Ocean as the “Great American Pond,” complete with plans for the world’s largest floating golf course. Meanwhile, across the Pacific, China’s infamous nine-dash line could be rebranded as the “Great Wall of Water,” with guided tours and commemorative T-shirts.
What’s next? A Filipino senator floating the idea of renaming the “South China Sea” to the “Greater West Philippine Sea,” perhaps to one-up cartographers worldwide.
In this age of rebranding, perhaps it’s time we all took a step back and remembered that a sea by any other name would still be as salty.
Critics of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have been quick to blame him for the Philippines’ rising national debt, but they are comparing apples with oranges.
The fact is, when Marcos assumed office in 2022, the country’s debt was already at ₱12.09 trillion, largely due to loans incurred by the Duterte administration to fund pandemic response and infrastructure projects.
As of 2025, the national debt has increased further, but attributing the entire rise to Marcos alone is misleading. Debt accumulation is a continuous process influenced by past and present policies, global economic conditions, and interest rates. The reality is that much of the current debt stems from obligations inherited from Duterte.
While fiscal responsibility remains crucial, critics should acknowledge the full context rather than cherry-pick numbers to suit a narrative. After all, debt doesn’t reset with a new president—it compounds over time.
Ah, America—the land of the free, where even its own citizens aren’t safe from deportation. Take, for instance, the case of a Puerto Rican military veteran, a man who put his life on the line for the very nation that later handed him a one-way ticket out. He was arrested in a deportation raid! You’d think serving in the military would at least earn you a permanent spot in the club. But no, paperwork errors and systemic ignorance take priority over logic.
Perhaps it’s an elaborate ploy to redefine patriotism. “Thank you for your service—now leave.” Or maybe it’s a bold experiment in irony, deporting people from their own country just to see if anyone notices. Either way, it’s a masterclass in how to make bureaucracy look both cruel and hilariously inept.
The last time we checked, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and US Virgin Islands are territories and part of America as well. So America can’t just banish its citizens to “Make America Great Again!”
The Adobo Chronicles 
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