Not included among ambassadors confirmed last Wednesday by the Commission on Appointments was socialite Emily Lopez, who has been nominated ambassador to Italy to replace Philippe J. Lhuiller, who will be sent to Argentina.
Lopez’s name was among those submitted by Malacañang to the CA two weeks ago despite complaints by two former household help of maltreatment. I guess it had something to do with the fact that the sponsor of Lopez, who was formerly Guimaras representative, is Speaker Jose de Venecia.
It’s ironic that Lopez would be embroiled in the issue of domestic helpers because she is going to a post that oversees the welfare of thousands of Filipinos working as domestic helpers. Lopez told me that she had wanted to go to Austria (which is to be vacated by Victor Garcia, who will be coming to the home office).
As Lopez related, Gloria Arroyo told her that a career foreign service officer is needed in Vienna because he or she has to represent the country in the International Atomic Energy Agency. She said, “Since the President knows that I’m good in dealing with OFWs, she offered me Rome.”
Okay. Now, she is accused by two helpers whom she promised to bring to Rome of maltreatment.
It’s not only the two domestic helpers who are expected to oppose the nomination of Lopez. We heard Sen. Sergio Osmeña will not make it easy for her.
Linglingay Lacanlale, detailed in Malacañang as protocol officer, is going to Austria. Lacanlale, whose nomination was among those confirmed the other day, will be replaced by Marciano Paynor, outgoing consul general in Los Angeles.
Paynor is not new to being Malacañang protocol officer. He served as one during the Ramos presidency. A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, Paynor was so good in that job that he continued to do protocol coordination for Arroyo’s foreign visits even when he was consul general in LA.
Paynor’s replacement in L.A. is Willy Gaa, who was ambassador to China for less than a year when he was told last January that he would have to be transferred to L.A. to give way to former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, who had agreed to serve again under Arroyo despite the insults he got from her when he was her foreign secretary.
Guingona’s nomination was immediately confirmed by the CA despite objections by former Sen. Francisco Tatad, citing violations of the law on age limitations (must not be over 70 years old) for non-career ambassadors.
That was before the Garci tapes surfaced, which pricked Guingona’s conscience. He backed out of the Beijing ambassadorial post and is now chair of Presidium of the Citizen’s Congress that is conducting a trial of the alleged crimes committed by Arroyo against the Filipino people.
Guingona’s withdrawal put the Philippines in an awkward situation. Gaa had already bidden farewell and the Philippines would have to go through the process of asking again for an agreement of China if it would like to have Gaa remain as ambassador.
The mess in the China ambassadorial assignment turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Undersecretary (for policy) Sonia Brady, who is now going to China.
Gaa has been sent to Washington D.C. to be chargé d’affaires in the absence of Ambassador Albert del Rosario who is home for consultations. Del Rosario’s deputy, Evan Garcia, has been recalled home together with his wife, Jocelyn, consul general in Washington D.C. The couple had been in D.C. for about 10 years.
Gaa’s assignment as consul general in Los Angeles is seen as a demotion, considering that he has been ambassador in his past two foreign assignments but that’s not unusual in the DFA.
Jose A. Zaide Jr. will be going to Paris to replace the retiring Hector Villaroel. Zaide was originally slated to Rome but then, it went to Lopez.
Inquirer columnist Amando Doronila was interested in Paris but Philippine Star Max Soliman asked Arroyo to “please not appoint Doronila there” because his wife, Preciosa, head of the committee secretariat of the Unesco Philippines, would not want to work with Doronila. Preciosa Soliven’s office provides support for the Philippine delegation to Unesco which is headed by the ambassador to France.
Doronila was given Belgium but he was bypassed by the CA.
Aside from Lacanlale, Brady and Zaide, others who were confirmed were Susan Castrence to Republic of Korea; Jose P. del Rosario Jr. to Jordan; Jaime Yambao to Pakistan; Bahnarim Guinomla to Turkey, Norberto Basilio to Bangladesh, Al Francis Bichara to Lebanon; Victoriano Lecaros to Malaysia, and Ramoncito S. Marino to Palau. Reynaldo Catapang’s promotion to chief of mission 2 was also confirmed.
The confirmations should cause some movement in the DFA. A number of positions have been vacated. There should be no problem filling them up. There are 49 career officers with the rank of ministers and are qualified to be named ambassadors.
Ellen,
With respect to the present assignments of ambassadors,
let us remind ourselves about the statement of a French statesman in the 18th Century. Remarking on how highly selective is his country’s diplomatic service, he stated : “We have many fools in France, but we do not export them.”
In the Philippines, our motto should be ” We have many
lawbreakers in the Philippines. Unlike the French, we
export them as ambassadors. On top of that, after breaking
the law, we give them presidential medals!”
Yes Ellen, we are the only country in the world with this
unique style of dipomacy. First we allow our Ambassadors to serve abroad in violation of the Foreign Service Act setting
a compulsory retirement age at sixty-five. After breaking the law, when they finally get their long overdue retirements , they then get awarded presidential medals. Not so long ago, one ambassador overstayed in a choice post serving there continuously for twelve years. He was given a presidential award when he belatedly retired. I understand another overstaying ambassador will soon also get a similar award.
The incoming group of ambassadors, four of whom will
retire within a few months, are bound to be extended beyond
the mandatory retirement age thus adding to the tally of lawbreaking ambassadors. It is time our countrymen learn who are representing them abroad.
Hermie, many of the active career officers share your lament of how the Foreign Service Act is violated left and right by people who are supposed to implement it.
With Vic Lecaros’ confirmation as ambassador to Malaysia, Estrella Berenguel, who has been cooling her heels in London, billeted in a hotel, will now be able to assume her post in Hanoi. Berenguel will be 65 in February 2006. What is the DFA going to do about her? Recall her after only three months in Hanoi? It’s crazy. I bet she will be extended. And the violation of the law goes on and on.
I talked with one foreign service officer and she said, an overstaying career officer is better than incompetent political appointees.
ellen,
I reluctantly started claiming that the DFA is under corrupt management. Let us just look at the cost. If the
law is to be followed, Berenguel will retire in three months time. It costs as much as $30,000 to move each ambassador. You have to multiply that by two, because
each ambassador you retire needs a replacement. So to move
Berenguel and Lecaros, count $60,000.
If Berenguel is retired in three months time add another
$60,000 to move her and her replacement. So in three months
time the travel expenses alone will be $120,000!
Too much expenses for a bankrupt country. So it is to be
expected that Berenguel will also get extended. Break the law to justify what clearly is an ill-advised assignment.
I couldn’t agree with you more.
Hi Ellen,
I’m glad Doronila was bypassed by the CA. Not only is he a Gloria diehard but he is also not fit (physically and culturally, etc.) for the job.
Confidentially, when I mentioned my misgivings about Doronila to a senior diplomat at the Philippine Embassy here who happens to be a friend, she wasn’t happy either – she believed that he will botch the job here and I agreed with her.
Anyway, I’ve promised to make Doronila’s life here unpleasant if he is appointed and I intend to keep that promise.
Ha!Ha!Ha! I know career foreign service officers are not exactly sad that Doronila was bypassed by the CA.
Career officers welcome political ambassadors who can enrich and energize foreign service. We can’t say that of majority of Arroyo’s political ambassadors.
When Arroyo gave Rome to Emily Lopez, she was reminded that the ambassador to Italy is also the representative to the Food and Agriculture Administration. Arroyo replied, “put a good career officer as no. 2.”
If you are a good career officer, why shouldn’t you be number one?
Career officers should engage in their form of calibrated preemptive response vis-a-vis Berenguel and other soon-to-be-recycled envoys. Hiya, through circulars and media coverage, doesn’t seem to have worked. Let’s persuade the assistant secretary for fiscal affairs to stop the payment of Berenguel’s salaries after she retires in February. In the meantime, let’s request Senator Enrile as head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee to invite Sec. Romulo to explain what he intends to do with the other retireables.
The two year rule banning foreign assignments and the Civil Service provision on the retirement age of public servants are being made a mockery of in the DFA. The situation would be laughable if it weren’t so pathetic and outrageous.
I do not know why the present administration allows those old personalities to serve the government for “ambassador” positions.Like Tito Guingona,he`s more than 70 years old when the President announced his position to China several months ago.I`m sure it`s a matter of political gimmick to control the former VP and to be in the government side. But after months of service,he resigned and turned his back again.How much money the goverment spent for this transition just to satisfy them and to payback the “UTANG na LOOB”? hahaha! How lucky they are,Spending dollars,free accomodation,house,car, food, bodyguards, etc…How about the unlucky OFW who are asking for help but not being granted because the embassy itself is running out of budget?
Let`s think about it…..
Correction to my earlier comment:
Career officers welcome political ambassadors who can enrich and energize foreign service. We can NOT say that of majority of Arroyo’s political ambassadors.
Danny’s idea is good. The case of Berenguel is really anomalous. She and head of personnel (also overstaying) and the secretary knew that she would be retiring February 2006. Why did they send her papers to malacañang?
I guess you can call me a misplaced diplomat. My background
is really in management. My college degree, bachelor’s and masters, is in public administration and management.
We structured RA 7157 predicated on two pillars :
a) Predictability and
b) Planning –
In this manner, both the DFA and its personnel can plan their lives ahead of time. We considered this concept so important that we emphasized this fact in the sponsorship speech for RA 7157, of Congressman Jaime C. Lopez. The speech is in the House Records dated March 19, 1991 for everyone interested to check.
That predictability will work under two conditions :
a) Everybody will retire compulsorily at age 65;
b) Everybody will not overstay his tour of duty
beyond six years.
If these two conditions are met, with the help of computers, one can plot the movement of personnel of the DFA
for the next ten years. It is the smallest executive department and this should be relatively easy. The only unpredictability is if somebody dies prematurely or resigns early, which could be taken care of by the system easily.
Planning and predictability went out the window when
some anointed people served tours of duty up to thirteen years, and in addition you have this endless extensions of retirement age.
So to be fair, Berenguel, Basilio, Castrence, Zaide etc. were also victims of past violations of law. If you look back into past assignments, their departures for abroad must have been unduly delayed because the people they were supposed to replace either belatedly retired or extended their tours of duty.
But you cannot correct a mistake with another mistake. That is what the DFA is doing now. It is paying for the flawed implementation of the law. But pity our poor
people paying the added VAT . The DFA is now spending this
extra tax money recklessly in the form of this belated assignments of personnel just weeks away from retirement.
What is worse, the DFA has not shown any signs of mending its ways.
So when I claim the DFA is under corrupt management and being mismanaged, I am not making an unsubstantiated
allegation.
Hermie,how about non-career ambassadors. Is the retirement age also 65? Or is it 70?
It’s about time, the DFA goes back to following the law. But i doubt if the present DFA leadership is interested in doing that.
The retirement age for non-career is 70. This will not affect the career service provided it does not exceed the
49% limit. You already include that as a factor when you
plan the future movement of personnel. However, if you
define “career ambassadors” as those having security of
tenure, the 49% has been exceeded. All the career ambassadors who are extended beyond age 65 technically become political also since they no longer have security
of tenure. They can be terminated any time. GMA as usual,
has found a way to circumvent the law. She wants a
Foreign Service that will be beholden to her. This will make Brillantes’ job easier soliciting endorsements
for his boss, and in the process politicizing the Foreign
Service.
Hermie, I went over the Foreign Service Act. On compulsory retirement, it says”All officers and employees of the Department who have reached the age of sixty-five (65) shall be compulsorily and automatically retired from the Service: Provided, however, That all incumbent non-career chiefs of mission who are seventy (70) years old and above shall continue to hold office until June 30, 1992 unless sooner removed by the appointing authority. Non-career appointees who shall serve beyond the age of sixty-five (65) years shall be entitled to retirement benefits.”
Doesn’t the first sentence apply to all career and non-career now?
Ellen,
That is one interpretation. The provision could be interpreted that all in the DFA, whether career or non-career, shall retire at age 65. However, during the deliberations on RA 7157 in the
Senate it appears that the intent is to allow non-career
chiefs of mission to serve up to age 70. The statement
of former Sen. Ernesto Maceda is: ” So as not to go into
a lot of debate, could we just limit the political
ambassadors to a 70 maximum limit?” He then proposed
an amendment to the bill which was adopted. During this
debate somebody also asked Sen. Maceda the hypothetical
question if retired Chief Justice Teehankee could no longer be appointed political ambassador. Maceda answered yes to the question. Teehankee will be disqualified since he is over 70 years old.
Even if 70 is accepted as the figure for non-career
ambassadors, there have been many past and on-going violations. The most prominent violation was the
appointment of former VP Guingona to Beijing. Guingona
participated in the Senate debates and knew he will be
violating the law when he accepted the Beijing post.
Now he has transformed himself into a judge and is trying GMA for breaking the law in the so-called People’s Court. The lawbreaker has become a judge.
Let us now vow our head in silent prayer and hope that
somehow our country survive this nightmare: An increasing number of the ambassadors representing us abroad are law
breakers, the government in power starting with the president are composed of lawbreakers, and the opposition
to the president are also composed of lawbreakers!
Amen!
Ellen,
It’s refreshing to read comments as candid as this about the socalled world-class Philippine foreign service. I took and passed the FSO exams just fairly recently. When I assumed my post as new FSO-Class IV, I was a starry-eyed, wet-behind-the-ears outsider who’ve been used to the corporate style in private companies. I saw every DFA event through rose-colored glassed. Not anymore. After less than 4 years in the service, I am bitter and disappointed. The bosses I’ve been working for in the DFA are not exactly models of efficiency or honesty.
I don’t want to grow old in this kind of atmosphere. Bitter retired ambassadors are a dime a dozen in the DFA corridors. They are eccentric characters we young officers generally avoid unless left without an option.
My greatest fear is to grow old like them. When I took up the FSO exams, it seemed like a good, rewarding career path. But now, diplomacy has totally evolved that Filipino diplomats (the low-ranking workhorses, that is) seldom engage in wining and dining anymore, more preoccupied with social work services overseas. The really good positions and posts go to the sons and daughters of corrupt ambassadors – what are call diplobrats. only the pickings are left for those without LAN (local area network).
It’s a sorry state, to be so new and feel so much like an old bitter soul. What is your evaluation? Perhaps it is time to pack up the bags and hie off to the private sector again? Leave this rusting hulk of a ship that is the DFA building?
Not a bad thing, considering.
Zainab,
Hang in there, we need can-do people like you.
Try to insulate yourself from the brats and the old, rickety envoys. You need their company like a hole in the head.The corrupt and incompetent ambassadors you speak of are the exception. Their generation is also on the way out.
Specialize in a geographic or functional area through FSI courses or outside studies. Identify a senior officer whom you respect and ask for his or her advise.Pick a language and area of study you think will be needed particularly five to ten years down the road and focus on them.
Complement your professional life with interesting activities outside because life does not end with the DFA.
When you finally get posted abroad, you will probably realize that selling our country as a diplomat is more interesting and rewarding than selling property for Ayala Land, for example.
Lastly, there are no bad posts. There are only bad heads of post and subordinates who cannot find something interesting and constructive in their respective countries of assignment. But yes, there are easy and comfortable places but the people who man the ramparts in these countries are a dime a dozen.
Zainab,
Our Foreign Service as a whole is not world class. It is third class.
But individually, we can strive to be world class. Try meeting the standards of diplomats from the developed countries or ASEAN nations like Singapore and Thailand and you will be ISO-certified.
The institution can help you only up to a limited extent. Most of the work has to be done on your own. And like Enforcer said, try to get some help from trusted and competent senior colleagues.
Zainab, I’m happy to know that young officers like you have not been eaten by the system yet. I join Enforcer in urging you to HANG IN THERE . The Filipino people need diplomats like you.
Who else is going to help the country but we, Filipinos.
Zainab,
That is correct, hang on. Try to get to the top and reform the DFA. The malaise in the DFA is internal. The DFA can still reclaim its position as the Premier Department.
The conventional wisdom in our country is that “political
patronage” corrupts the civil service. But there is a worse
form of patronage called “administrative patronage.” And that, as you correctly surmised, is what is corrupting the DFA. Political patronage is transitory. A politician
intervenes in the appointment, promotion or assignment of
a protegee. That is the end of it. Administrative patronage is more pernicious and long lasting. The
patron(s) push through certain favored individuals throughout their careers. You don’t have to stay long in the DFA to note who these favored people are.
Let us for once give due credit to our politicians. When
they enacted RA 7157 into law, they acted as statesmen and
not as politicians and gave the DFA a law as demanded by those in the service. I am glad to have participated in that process. My role was to transmit to the members of the
House the wishes of the DFA career personnel.
The members of Congress incoporated in the law all the demands of the career people even if these politicians knew they will cut their powers of patronage by enacting such a law.
The spoils sytem you have now in the DFA sugar coated
to appear like a merit system, is not a failure of the law.
It is failure of implementation. There is no need to pass
another law to have a merit system in the DFA. Just change
the corrupt people implementing it.
This is a positive, at least you already have a good law in place. In the sponsorship speech of Congressman Jaime Lopez we anticipated the failure to implement the law
properly so we included this statement :
“AS we deliberate on this legislation which shall guide
our country’s foreign relations through the next several years, let us not lose sight of the fact that a law, no matter how well-framed, can only be as good as the people who will implement it.”
So the law is already there, it is just waiting for the
right people to implement it. During our time we have a law,
RA 708 which had serious flaws. You and some other young
foreign service officers may be the right people to do it
at the appropriate time. Don’t lose hope.
Vero,
What’s your idea of a world class diplomatic service?
It certainly is not one that has within its ranks some of the nation’s fools.
It is a service that has a clear mission as well as a strategy and a competent organization to carry out the mission. Most important of all, it invests in the selection and training of its personnel, and nurtures and enables its young members like Zainab.
In terms of policy, it anticipates the long-term needs of the country and helps shape policy responses to these demands. In the context of globalization, international terrorism and external debt, it provides the national leadership with policy options from which to choose.
A blogger going by the name of Danny has dealt at length on the organizational aspect in the blog item “R & R Destinations” so I simply refer you to his post on DFA management issues.
To his blog I simply wish to add that the personnel of a world class Foreign Service are the exact opposite of fools. They are intelligent, dynamic, resourceful, multilingual ( not English and Filipino ) and possessed of integrity. In short, they are representatives our people should be proud of as well as agents with whom other nations will be glad to do business with.
They are diplomats who think creatively and strategically. They don’t dredge out some second hand proposal like inter-faith dialogue that had already been discussed exhaustively at the UNESCO in Paris to pass it on to the Security Council as if it were a great RP invention. This was the only important policy “initiative”that we presented to the Council during our year-long membership.
It will be a very long time before we get there but we better start now, particularly with our younger officers. Institutional support is vital. The FSI under Amb. Samuel Ramel did a good job during the tightly-run cadetship programs some years back and this can be seen in many of the officers who went through those courses. OPAS and the geographic offices should match the talents and interests of our officers and other ranks with the long-term needs described above. Most important of all, effective and forward-looking leadership at all levels should push the organization towards the goal of developing a world class diplomatic service.
It may sound like a pipe dream but I suspect that it can be done, at least partially. It must be done because the competition has already overtaken us and we have to play catch up.
Dismal may the present situation in the DFA be, I am not giving up hope. I know many officers in the DFA who are “intelligent, dynamic, resourceful, multilingual ( not English and Filipino ) and possessed of integrity” who we can trust to protect our interest in foreign relations.
movements in the dfa. these 11 ambassadors who were confirmed last week four will be retiring. why is the appointment of these are confirmed by the c.a. are they malakas to pres. gma.
Your are correct in asking. The CA is supposed to serve as an oversight body on the appointments of the President but although they perform that responsibility in some cases (Ex: Amando Doronila), they can be negligent in some.
But I believe the blame should be placed heavily on the foreign secretary. He should not have submitted the names for the President’s nomination in the first place.
And the retirables should not have begged, stolen or borrowed to be assigned abroad.
Correct.
Very true. You always seem to get your facts right.
Avax