THE draft announcement of Sen. Miriam Santiago, chair of the Commission on Appointments’ committee on foreign affairs, of the latest batch of ambassadors whose nominations have been confirmed last Wednesday, did not include the name of Ramoncito S. Marino.
The draft press release said the committee deferred Marino’s confirmation as ambassador to Palau “as requested by Sen. Edgardo J. Angara pending receipt of further information about his past position.”
Later in the day, Marino was included in the list of ambassadors confirmed. It was not known if the CA committee on foreign affairs ever got the information on Marino’s record in his previous position of ambassador to Lebanon.
Last year, Migrante International, a non-government organization working for the protection of overseas Filipino workers, asked for the recall of Marino from Lebanon together with the labor attaché and welfare officer for their negligence which led to the deaths of three OFWs who allegedly fell to their deaths while trying to escape their abusive employers.
Migrante said appeals for help to the embassy in Beirut by the two victims, Louella Montenegro and Catherine Bautista, “went unheeded.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs sent a team to Lebanon to investigate the allegations against Marino and company. I suppose they were all cleared because why would he be sent to Palau, another place teeming with Filipino workers?
Waiting for their turn in the CA are non-career nominees Emily Lopez to Rome, Philippe Lhuillier to Argentina, Rigoberto Tiglao to Greece and Tonet Lagdameo to Mexico.
Lagdameo, son-in-law of businessman and Marcos friend Antonio Floirendo, was earlier slated for London to replace the past-retirement age Edgardo Espiritu, who was eyeing either the position of Central Bank governor and the presidency of the University of the Philippines.
Espiritu didn’t get CB or UP, so he is staying on in London. So Lagdameo is going to Mexico to replace another non-career ambassador, Justo Orros.
Of the the 12 new ambassadors, the overseas posting of the five (Estrella Berenguel to Hanoi, Norberto Basilio to Bangladesh, Jose P. del Rosario to Jordan, Jose Zaide to France and Susan Castrence to South Korea) are in violation of the Foreign Service law that prohibits foreign assignments for officers retiring within two years.
Of the four, the case of Berenguel stirs up the young career officers the most. Berenguel, who will be retiring in February, was already within the two years retirement age prohibition when she assumed the deputy chief of mission post in London.
Aside from the fact that it’s impossible for her to accomplish anything substantial in RP-Vietnam relations in three months, the disadvantage is best articulated by retired ambassador Hermie Cruz. He said: “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 (outgoing ambassador Vic) 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.”
To be fair, Cruz said, 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, Cruz further said, “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.”
The ultimate victim of these senseless decisions is the Filipino people. Cruz said, “Pity our poor people paying the added VAT. The DFA is now spending this extra tax money recklessly in the form of these belated assignments of personnel just weeks away from retirement.”
What can we expect? The law does not mean anything to a bogus regime.
Yes, and that is sad.
Since the President is the number one violator of the law by her cheating, lying and stealing, it’s difficult to expect other government employees to adhere to the law.
Change should come from the top.
Ellen,
The reason why the likes of Mrs. Berenguel et al might soon get away with administrative felonies is the support given them by a subculture within the DFA.
This mafia is comprised of officials who entered the Department after passing the FSO exams in the late 60s to 70s. After working up the ladder through fair and foul means, they are now in a position to dispense patronage as well as to allow some of their colleagues impunity from administrative sanctions.
Transcending the tenure of any one Philippine president, this small syndicate decides on promotions, assignments, transfers, hiring of contractuals, etc. It protects its own kind, so administrative cases with strong evidence against envoys accused of smuggling elephant tusks or cars, maltreating their domestic helpers, or accepting an appointment as the administrator of the estate of a Filipino within one’s consular jurisdiction, are whitewashed.
Our taxpayers and younger diplomats cannot afford to wait for the members of this mafia to disappear through the attrition of the years, in the case of one of them, three months. It’s not too late to prevent Mrs. Berenguel and her cohorts from transfiguring themselves into political appointees. Secretary Alberto Romulo should simply check their retirement dates and order the payment of their salaries to be stopped effective such dates. Better that than have an irate taxpayer from outside or within the DFA petitioning the courts for a restraining order.
The mafia must and can be forced to slowly end their racketerring. CMs and career ministers directly affected by the recent assignments should petition Foreign Secretary Romulo to make a commitment, even a private one, that the moment these ambassadors reach retirement age, they will no longer draw their salaries and allowances.
Let us not forget the overstaying career ambassadors like Messers. Baja, Arguelles and Villaroel who have already mutated into political appointees. A class suit or special action should be filed to secure a ruling on this anomaly that violates the letter and spirit of the Foreign Service Act while sapping the morale of those waiting to be given the chance to fill these important positions.
If change cannot start at the top, maybe the lower ranks of the public service can slowly force the issue.
Ellen,
Realistically, part if not lots of the tax money used to subsidize DFA mistakes come from exorbitant fees that OFWs pay for every single of piece of paper, documentation, certification, etc. or embassy stamp required of DoLE human exports when these human exports a.k.a. OFWs go to a Philippine embassy abroad.
Not to mention the practice of exporting the misfits in the home office to foreign postings, in order to get them out of sight. I remember how Mr Modena was assigned to Israel– he was so obnoxious and counterproductive in the head office, Osec decided to “kick him up” to Israel because of his perceived closeness to the late Sec Ople. At that time, Amb Anota who was then in Israel had served for only 1 and a half years at post and she was doing an excellent job. Fortunately, she was moved to Singapore where she is handily managing the embassy and its many sensitive issues, including the recent murder case.
On the other hand, Mr. Modena is now an unwanted guest in Israel after insulting his host government by calling them Nazis!
Ellen,
Danny’s idea of some citizen taking the DFA to court for violations of law is theoretically possible. But it is unlikely to happen. The problem at this moment is the
general public is not well informed about the anomalies
happening in the DFA. What we are witnessing in the case of the DFA is a systemic failure of institutions that makes
a modern society function.
It was a far cry in 1962 when I joined the DFA. I was recruited by then VP Emmanuel Pelaez from the Civil Service
Commission to help restore the merit system in the DFA.
We had the force of public opinion behind us at that time. The “concerned public” keeping track of what was happening
in the DFA was large at that time. You don’t have that now judging by the on-going dialogue in Ellen’s and the Uniffor’s blog sites. Most of the participants are DFA insiders, just a sprinkling from the general public.
So let me go directly to the point and state that in the
DFA now there has also been a failure of the part of the
journalists covering the DFA to expose the anomalies happening there. Just look at the following :
1) The Heads of Fiscal had in violation of law,
failed to stop the illegal disbursements of funds
since 1991 when the violations of RA 7157
started. The accumulated amount involved must
be close to Php 750 million by now. This is
plunder under our law multiplied by a factor of
15:
2)The overstaying ambassadors tend to concentrate
on the most expensive posts like Tokyo, Paris
and New York, with high cost of living index.
An ambassador in such post could be
collecting as much as $20,000 per month in
emoluments, add to this another $20,000 in
rentals. Thus an ambassador who overstays in
such post for as long as twelve years also
had collected emoluments illegally that will
far exceed the definition of plunder.
3) The unexplained wealth cases have involved
amounts starting from Php 5 million. By this
standard an ambassador in an expensive post like
Tokyo accumulates unexplained wealth every
2 1/2 months.
Yet in spite of the above facts, the media covering the
DFA have not reported them as news. They must have set a
very high treshold for reporting anomalies in public service.
In 1962 when I joined the DFA the journalists covering the DFA are frontline newsmen like Celso Cabrera, Kiko de Leon, Nestor Mata, Armando Doronilla, joined later by Kit Tatad and still much later by Ellen. These journalists were very relentless in exposing the venalities in the DFA. The current crop of journalists assigned to the DFA clearly are not in the same league as these journalists. One can only hope that at least one of the young journalists now assigned in the DFA will become another Kit Tatad. When Tatad was assigned to the DFA beat he was a novice, but he made a name for himself covering the DFA. So there is a future in DFA journalism if somebody does the right work.
Finally let us talk about UNIFFORS, the underground press
opposing the DFA management. I find it an anachronism that
we should have an underground press in a society that has
a free press. We have samizdat literature in the former
USSR because there was a controlled press; just as there is
an underground press in China now. But in a society where
you have a free press, the topics taken up at the UNIFFORS
blog should be the subjects taken up in the free press and
reported as news. In short Uniffors exists because the DFA
press has failed in its work.
So the media, which has the important function of educating the public, has failed our people. The average Juan de la Cruz does not know what is happening in the DFA. If the media people covering the DFA reads this I hope they re-apprise their position. DFA reporting does not cover only foreign policy and events like state visits, conferences and the like. It should also cover the administration of the DFA. The administrative problems of the DFA affects the quality of our foreign policy. Our diplomats should not spend the major portions of their careers lobbying for promotions and assignments. These things are supposed to operate automatically by faithfully applying the law. Our diplomats to be truly world-class as somebody stated, should devote their full time in the conduct of foreign relations. They cannot do that under the current atmosphere in the DFA.
Ellen’s column has also become a lone wolf operation in exposing the anomalies in the DFA.
I agree with the gist of what Amb. H. Cruz says. I simply wish to clarify the following:
1. The irate taxpayers bringing up the cases of DFA anomalies can also be DFA personnel, particularly those directly affected by the overstaying and soon-to-be overstaying ambassadors.Whether some people will be mad enough to forget about the reprisals that such court cases will result in is another matter altogether.
2. The sistemic failure is also due to the lack of a proper forum within the DFA for the discussion and effective redress of grievances.
3. Some of the current crop of young journalists who have covered the DFA have tried to expose some administrative wrongs. Miss del Callar and Miss Malou Talosig, who unfortunately is no longer in the foreign service beat, are examples. Part of the problem is that DFA personnel do not point them in the right direction or do not provide them with needed information.
4. There is still an opportunity to bring to light other anomalies through the media as well as alternative channels such as blog sites. However, the public should not lose sight of the fact that the venalities are linked to a larger web of corruption and collapse of the rule of law in society at large.
I knew Modena in Paris when he was Consul General. Modena may be ‘intellectually’ qualified for the job but his behaviour and attitude did not reflect this. I wasn’t impressed with Modena. He looked ànd sounded more like a KM street activist than a top diplomat.
The Filipino community had a kind of running feud with Modena for his brash, abbrasive, disrespectful attitude towards many members of the Pinoy community here. One of his problems is that he never could hold his liquor and when he was drunk was extremely obnoxious. He also had no qualms parading his blond excessively painted ‘Russian’ mistress around and going lovey dovey with the said woman during Pinoy festivities in Paris. Obviously, he became a laughingstock.
There were so many incidents where Modena figured in altercations with members of the community in Paris particularly when he was drunk. Even when he wasn’t, there were many complaints of verbal abuses suffered in his hand by Filipino passport applicants at the embassy.
After one very embarassing incident Ambassador Villarroel called a meeting with the Pinoy community to confront Modena. Apparently, Ambassador Villarroel was so irate that he was prepared to report on Modena to the DFA in Manila and to have him recalled.
Fortunately for Modena, the president of the Assembly of Philippine Associations in France (a federation of Pinoy associations) came to his rescue publicly and to the disappointment of Villarroel and many members of the associations, said that the issue had been settled. Modena thanked his rescuer profusely.
Ellen,
By the way, I believe that Ambassador Hector Villarroel, who is now about to retire, is the best ambassador the Philippines has posted to Paris these last 30 years. I have also met with a few ambassadors elsewhere in Europe and appreciated a couple of them but Paris by far, has been lucky to have (had) a Villarroel.
He is bright, eloquent and dignified. Moreover, he’s always been sensitive to the issues that beset the community in France who held him in the highest regard. He acted with great diplomacy and I must say that he’s always been a distinguished diplomat. I have the highest respect for Ambassador Villarroel.
I wish other career DFA officials would emulate him and that the incoming Philippine ambassador to France would have the same attributes.
Modena has his strong points too but unfortunately his weaker side has been more exposed to the public.
Villarroel is a terrible administrator. He is hated by his staff. The incident involving the confrontation between some Filcom representatives with Modena is one example of poor personnel management. He should have spoken to Modena man-to-man and alone instead of making him go through some kind of public trial. Modena may be abrasive and boorish at times but he is the type who will listen to a superior whom he respects.
Villarroel has done absolutely nothing to improve the decaying chancery in the 16th arrondissement. He has misused the embassy car for personal out of town trips. He has been travelling constantly to Lisbon for a distincly personal reason but but he has made his trips appear as official missions. This practice is called technical malversation.
He is also a law-breaker because he has pleaded and cadged several extensions in Paris where he has been for eight years as opposed to the six-year reglamentary period for a foreign assignment.
He is probably bright and eloquent but dignified he is not because a person with integrity and dignity would not engage in the practices mentioned above.
The bright, eloquent and dignified ambassador we have had in France was the late Luis Moreno Salcedo. Villarroel pales in comparison. As a matter of fact, he should not even be compared to Moreno Salcedo.
The Enforcer made several good points. There should be
a continuing dialogue between the journalists and the concerned officers. It is essential that the correct information be given to the journalists for this dialogue to be meaningful.
In this respect I am appalled by the total lack of understanding by the career officers on how the law is supposed to work. No law can work unless there are
enforcers or what you call in the private sector “compliance
officers.” In the Foreign Service Act, there are two such
enforcers, the Head of Fiscal and the Chief of Personnel.
They have two essential functions :
a) Give correct advice to the Secretary on how to
implement the law:
b) If that fails, then both officials can invoke
the powers conferred on them by Congress as
internal auditors and issue a stop payment order
for the salary and allowances being disbursed to
the illegal appointees.
Both contingencies did not happen. Instead both internal auditors accepted extensions of their service.
That is equivalent to a policeman receiving a bribe
not to enforce the traffic law. Except that in this
instance the bribe is an extension of public office, a very serious offence under our laws.
Then comes UNIFFORS to my surprise extolling both
officials and exempting them from the violators of the law.
Evidently, UNIFFORS overlooked or did not took into account
the internal auditor functions of both officials when
they took this stand.
If you give this kind of information to the journalists is a case of as you say, pointing them
in the wrong direction.
The textbooks in public administration uniformly
emphasize that public opinion is a check on bureaucracy.
The press in this respect has two roles, to inform and to
educate the public. The former is short term, the latter
is an on going long term undertaking. To arouse public
opinion now about the corruption in the DFA will require
a long term continuing effort on the part of the
media and the concerned career officers. I hope they
start on this long journey together.
I am not a member of either Unifors or Uniffors but my interpretation of the Uniffors position on Mr. Bello and Mrs. Gonzales is that:
(1) The two officials did not ask to be extended;
(2) They were responsible for securing the return of 100% of overseas allowances that had been unjustly withheld in 1999 from personnel assigned abroad;
(3) One of them introduced a transparent and predictable system for giving regular items to contractuals; and
(4) The other put some sense of order to the system of assignments by publishing vacancies and asking personnel to bid for such vacancies then matching the skills of the personnel concerned with the vacant positions.
A bribe is the offer of money or some other consideration to a public officer so that he or she will act in a manner favorable to the person offering the bribe. There is no showing that the two officials accepted the extension of their services in exchange for not acting as internal auditors on the issue of paying the emoluments of overstaying ambassadors.
I admit that they were prevented from acting as internal auditors because they themselves were extendees but it must also be accepted that in our system of almost military-like discipline and chain of command, the foreign secretary would have in all likelihood given specific instructions to pay the officials concerned or in the unlikely event that a stop payment order was issued by the head of fiscal affairs, would have overruled such order.
I don’t see here a case of pointing journalists in the wrong direction. What I believe is involved in an objective explanation of the extension of the services of Mr. Bello and Miss Gonzales, an issue that is more complex than some think.
I agree with Amb. Cruz that public opinion is a check to bureaucratic abuse. But before the forum of public opinion is resorted to, administrative remedies must be exhausted. Perhaps the revived original Unifors which elected a new set of officers last week will formally take up with the Department’s authorities the issues discussed in this and other blog sites.
I also share his view that the concerned officers should explain both the policies and the administrative workings of the DFA to the media and the public because only an informed audience can be an effective counter-balance to a dysfunctional administrative set-up.
I disagree with the statement that ours is a system of military-like discipline. It seems the opposite is the case.
I never pried into the private life of Ambassador Villarroel and was never interested in it and thought that his private life didn’t matter an iota for as long as it didn’t become public or it didn’t reflect on his public life or on his job as RP envoy in his dealings with France. By the way, wasn’t Portugal part of his diplomatic post?
Villarroel did his job well whereas it wasn’t always that way with regards previous ambassadors. I thought tried to do it in the most dignified manner possible given the very difficult diplomatic environment which is France. He may not have been appreciated by his staff but hey, I’ve heard similar complaints by underlings regarding their ‘chief honcho’ in other embassies so to each his own sentiment.
In an ideal world, we expect our envoys to be perfect. But this is impossible in this imperfect world.
I guess there will always be a sentiment of dissatisfaction from some quarters who worked directly or indirectly with an ambassador anywhere. That’s the risk of the trade. There’s bound to be ‘chismis’ that will float around concerning an envoy’s private life and frankly, I am not one to be easily influenced by hearsays. My opinion of Villarroel thereforse stands.
Ambassador Salcedo must have been posted to France in the pre or early 70s. I didn’t know him. I compared Ambassador Villarroel to those ambassadors I met in Paris starting with Philip Mabilangan.
Of course, the worst one, to my mind, was Mrs. Manalo.
Gabriel,
I was writing about the ideal system which is military-like discipline. As you point out correctly, there is a gap between the ideal and real situations.
Anna,
I think the issue that Dennis wanted to bring up was Villarroel’s travelling to Lisbon, admittedly part of his jurisdiction, for personal reasons but using official funds for the purpose. Not his personal life which should not be the concern of anyone provided the conditions you mentioned are met.
From the management perspective, Villarroel is no better than Manalo. The latter purchased that low-quality building inside a private compound as the new chancery which I understand is in a state of disrepair. Villarroel did nothing to improve or maintain it properly.
I agree with Dennis that he did not handle Modena properly. Making Modena face those Filipinos with complaints against him was a sign of poor judgment and interpersonal skills.
Thanks for clarifying, Dennis. I think that in the DFA, the only situation remotely resembling the military are the renegades and loose cannons like Modena
Denis please note that our discussion is within the context of establishing a meaningful dialogue between the career
service and the press. No responsible journalist will
publish an article along the line you are suggesting i.e.
that the law be applied selectively, applying it to some
people and exempting others. The chief of mission who used
a padrino in getting his services extended is as equally
guilty as the CM who was given a free extension and who
accepted the extension knowing it is in violation of law.
Moreover, in evaluating this issue please note that whatever
good the two officials did for the career service must be
offset against the Php 750 million estimated funds they
disbursed in violation of law. If you give misleading
information to the media, next time around they will not
listen to you.
Amb. Cruz,
I did not say that the law should be applied selectively. I just pointed out my interpretation of the Uniffors position that Mr. Bello and Miss Gonzales were in a different situation from that of the other overstaying ambassadors.It is all about nuances.
Payment of the salaries of overstaying envoys is practically ministerial, unless you have a fiscal affairs head who is willing to make a conclusion of law that will earn him the ire of the officials affected, not to mention the foreign secretary who will definitely revoke such order. Your view that a stop payment order is sufficient is easier said than done. Now do not get me wrong. I agree with your stand. But I do not believe it will work under the present system and environment.
Gabriel,
Modena is a loose cannon but there is still some hope for him. If and when he is sent to Papua New Guinea and he reflects properly on his recent professional past and he mellows, maybe he may still be saved. That is a very big “maybe,” of course.
Re dialogue between media and career officers, that should be cultivated. During my coverage of the DFA, I got a lot of help from officers who had the patience to give me background briefing on issues we were writing about. Even now, I get occasional background briefing from some. And I’m very thankful for that.
Of the current crop of diplomatic reporters, there are some who are serious. But they need help.
as we needed help during our time. DFA is not an easy beat to cover. But very challenging. It’s one beat where you learn a lot.
Ellen,
Let us hope that this is the beginning of a meaningful
dialogue between the career FSOs and the DFA media people.
Both groups have to work together for the sake of our country. I hope the DFA journalists will have the patience
educating the public about what is wrong with the DFA.
This will not happen overnight. I hope the career officers in turn will be candid in dealing with the journalists and study their facts carefully before passing them on to the media for possible publication. It takes two to tango.
Modena and Villarroel are atypical Foreign Service Officers. Unlike Modena, the average FSO does not look like a KM activist nor does he smoke like a chimney or become obnoxious when he drinks. Unlike Villarroel, the typical Philippine diplomat is computer literate, drives his own car and does not invent an official pretext to travel for private reasons. The decent and law-abiding typical FSO packs his bags and leaves when his six-year foreign tour of duty is up. The most he asks for is a three-month extension, if ever.
Between the two envoys, I would prefer to deal with Modena because what you see is what you get.
His careless letter to the Jerusalem Post was well intentioned. The serious error might have been avoided if his colleagues in the embassy had forcefully given him a second opinion.
Mr. Hamoy, his subordinate, wrote to defend Modena’s actions. If Villarroel were in the same position, nobody but nobody in his staff would have risen to his defense.
As Ellen said in one of her columns, “Modena’s heart is in the right place.” I would not say the same thing about Villarroel.
If Modena’s atypical diplomat behaviour is the gauge for who is preferable and who is not in the diplomatic corps, then I’m afraid the Philippine foreign service will not become world class.
As I said, in an ideal world, you may expect a top envoy to be perfect but short of that, it would be preferable not to have the likes of Modena in the corps.
Knowing how to properly handle the members of the staff, to use the computer, to buy your own car and how to drive it, to follow the rules on the length of assignment is basic. Perfection is not being sought here.
Modena is not one of our top envoys. But he is at least honest. He does not hide behind a veneer of sophistication, fake or authentic, to pass himself of as a good diplomat. He also earns the loyalty of his subordinates.
And going down to basics, he knows how to use a computer and drive.
Re foreign service officers and media, is there a course on dealing with media in a foreign service officers’ training?
Does FSI give a seminar on dealing with media?
Career officers, while in Manila should be allowed to interact with media. Manila media is the best training ground diplomats in facing the press just like PGH is the best training ground for doctors. If you survive Philippine media, you have a good chance of doing well anywhere in the world.
The tips given by Vergel Santos in his book “Worse than free” should be useful.
E-mail from Rolando Vergara:
I read your column on “Subsidizing DFA’s Mistakes.” The computation of
retired Ambassador Hermie Cruz on the cost of movements of Ms. Berenguel,
et. al is even conservative, if not accurate. Please consider the
following:
If Ms. Berenguel moves to Hanoi, she will be replaced in London by another
high-ranking DFA official, possibly newly confirmed CM II Rey Catapang. So
the initial movement alone of Ms. Berenguel will already cost US$60,000
(including that of Mr. Catapang). If Mr. Lecaros moves to KL, that’s
another US$30,000– or a total of US$90,000 just for the initial movement.
DFA or the government can save US$60,000 if instead of moving Lecaros from
Hanoi, it sends Catapang or another qualified CM to Kuala Lumpur. That’s
plain and simple.
Tks.
Rolando
Ellen,
In the cadetship program for new FSOs some six years ago, there used to be a module ( I do not know if it is still part of the curriculum )on media relations consisting of three two-hour sessions.
The module covered the drafting of press releases, letters to the editor, the handling of radio and television interviews, etc.
There was no practicum.
I agree that career officers should be allowed to interact with media representatives. But maybe not during their cadetship but at a later stage when they shall have already gained more experience within the Department. If done too early, the interaction might not be too fruitful for both sides.
Maybe there should also be a module for senior envoys on driving, the purchase of one’s own vehicle and the use of computers. While we’re at it, we might as well also throw in subjects like the smooth interpersonal relations with the staff, the maintenance of government-owned real property and a review of foreign service regulations on tours of duty, retirement, use of government vehicles for official use and other rules.
Make Mrs. Berenguel join the module on the use of the computer. Just make sure the crash program takes place before February, the month when she should retire and get a life outside the DFA.
I am impressed with Philippe’s extreme sense of loyalty vis-a-vis Modena.
Let’s hope Villaroel’s successor in Paris will be as lucky to have the honor of Philippe’s devotion.
Philippe’s loyalty to Modena is not extreme because he admits that the latter can be obnoxious at times and look like an unkempt KM activist.He also thinks that the letter to the Jerusalem Post was dumb.
Villarroel is almost history and his downside would not have been brought up if it were not for Anna’s praises which provoked some harsh comments from insiders who know the situation a little better.
Zaide knows how to handle people better than Villarroel so I don’t expect him to have the acute personnel problems of Villarroel.
Ellen,
I don’t wish to quarrel with anyone over Villarroel nor over Modena. I reacted to a blog re Modena earlier. If the desire of everyone over here is to improve Philippine foreign service, I am for it.
Frankly, from reading your articles on the DFA, I gathered that the service needs all the help it can get – I volunteer not to make things get worse.
Philippe,
Your acts are completely wrong about Modena. He did not just write a little letter to the Jerusalem Post. He conducted a three-page interview in the Ydioth Ahornot (The No. 1 circulation Hebrew language newspaper in Israel) complete with horrible pictures of him breathing smoke threw his nostrils and holding a cigarette between his fingers, with his long, dirty nails, and baring his teeth (fangs) which are rotten and nicton-stained. In that interview, he repeated again, and again, that Israeli immigrations police are like the Nazis who persecuted the Jews. Member of Knesset Lapid, the following day, demanded his expulsion. That was front-page news everywhere. So, it was not as simple as you try to make it appear, Philippe.
And the womanizing has not changed. He hangs out in karaoke bars, and red houses, drinking himself to a stupor every night. Anna de Brux is right.
The worst part is, the deportation of Filipinos continue to this day, and Modena cannot speak to the Israeli officials in charge of immigrations, because they are no longer favorable inclined to listen to him after he insulted them.
Gabriel,
Thanks for the graphic description. It looks like Modena needs a complete makeover.The trouble is our system should have a way of getting this guy’s act together. As one blogger here said, there may still be some hope for him. It’s bad enough that Modena lacks finishing school traits. The lack of formal training and informal advise in his professional environment has only made it worse.
Three-page interview with close-up pictures, huh? Who does he think he is, Alain Delon? Why he did not even have proper suits when he arrived in Paris. Romy Manalo had to lend him some!
If I were him I’d watch my step very carefully. The Israelis have an excellent intelligence service and I am sure that his shenanigans are being monitored closely.
On the deportation of Filipinos, whether or not Modena is there will not change anything one bit. Only the manner in which the expulsions are carried out can be relaxed. Maybe Garibay or Hamoy can give it a try.
Gabriel,
A blogger here implied that Garibay and Hamoy could have a moderating influence on Antonio “Alain D” Modena. If they cannot do it, who can? Let’s assume that his transfer cannot take effect immediately.
Do you agree that FSI training combined with peer pressure or advise could have smoothened many of his rough edges? I do not refer to the rotten, nicotine-stained teeth which is something within the competence of a good dentist.
Here in Manila, some foreign diplomats would meet us to discuss current political situation. Of course, we know they are gathering information, which is just okay with me because I also try to get information from them.
Do our diplomats also do that in other countries?
Ellen,
Part of the job for diplomats to gather info on host country by speaking to journalists (or at least a semblance of speaking to them).
A friend of mine, a former columnist for a European daily, once asked to interview a Filipino diplomat – no dice! Diplomat was scared.
On Jaybee Ofrasio, accused Filipino terrorist whom I believe is currently detained in Belfast prison, same journalist friend tried to get Phil ambassador to UK for lowdown, nothing doing.
I believe it was Sir Harold Nicholson, the well known
British diplomat author, who stated that the best advice
he could give to young diplomats is to touch base with the
media in their posts of assignment. To this advise I will add that our young diplomats should also cultivate friendship with the academicians. You will know the truth
about what is really happening in a country by talking with
their academes. The officials in the Foreign Ministry or
Economic ministry will give you biased data. The academicians also tend to have a better grasp of the
problems besetting their country.
When I presented my credentials as AEP to Chile I was asked
by the Foreign Ministry Protocol to give them a list of the
key Chilenos I want to meet. I included the Presidents of
Universidad de Chile and U. de Santiago. When I called on
these presidents they were surprised and honored and told me
I was the first AEP to call on them. Meaning my colleagues
in the dipomatic corps were not developing this mine of
information within their grasp.
Throughout my stay in Chile both institutions provided me
with valuable studies on Chile some of which I passed on to
the U.P.
In informal gatherings hosted by foreign diplomats, I meet academicians. That means they do that also here.
As a journalist, I also find inputs from academicians enriching.
Maybe Anna’s friend should have spoken instead to Ed Maranan, the information attaché at the embassy in London. Or the defense attaché there.
I wouldn’t have asked Espiritu even for the time.
Journalists and academicians are good contacts. So are businessmen, opposition politicians, key officers in the military and the police, known figures in the arts, apart from other diplomats. The focus would depend on the specific interests of the Philippines in a given country.
In non-English speaking countries, the main problem of many of our diplomats is that they do not speak the language of the host country, so their ability to develop contacts is curtailed. A secondary problem is their unwillingness to spend their representation allowance for cultivating these contacts.
if the DFA had a proper administrative tribunal worth its name, with the proper legal procedures,notices and hearings, counsels on both sides, occasional media coverage, and charges brought promptly under oath ( albeit initially anonymous if necessary), then the DFA probably won’t have a chief of mission being allowed to “drink himself into a stupor each night, visiting red houses…”
or another chief “…making personal visits to portugal …” at the embassy’s expense.
the point is that the rule of law is a subject of action, not debate. following the pareto principle if you wish, getting that tribunal in gear and running might solve 80% of the problem.
Anna,
Based on your comment about one of our diplomats refusing to be interviewed by a columnist of a European daily, it looks like not only our new officers but also all our senior diplomats should be given a crash course on media relations. If he or she was so scared, then a background briefing or interview could have been arranged. Sayang, that was a lost opportunity. It must have also caused the country to lose some more points in the eyes of that journalist.
I appreciate your inputs because it gives me a clearer idea about how our foreign service is perceived outside our goldfish bowl.
Jeb,
You’re right. But before things get to the stage of an administrative tribunal, an efficient and effective inspector general doing his job properly would be needed to prevent such body from being clogged with unresolved cases and to keep the service running smoothly in the meantime.
I don’t think charges filed anonymously would be allowed under our administrative system.
I entered the DFA three years ago. I have heard a lot of horror stories but I did not expect them to be as bad as the ones mentioned in this site as well as that of Uniffors.
If Messers. Modena and Villarroel are really atypical, then I am more or less assured that I will not end up serving under officials like them when my time comes to be posted abroad.
Enforcer,
Ed Maranan is in London? I thought he was still a protocol officer in Manila.
Ed was a barkada some xxxx (heheh!) odd years or more ago (during the stint of Cynthia Guevarra in Paris)…gosh, how time flies!
Yup, he’s there. You should get in touch with him if you happen to pass by London. You and your journalist friends will have a more intelligent conversation with him than with Espiritu.
I understand Cynthia, who got married to a Britisher, lives somewhere outside London.
Your comments re Espiritu supports observations I have been getting from other DFA and Malacañang sources. They say he is a far cry from his predecessors, Cesar Bautista and Jesus Tambunting.
Enforcer mentioned the need for “an efficient and effective inspector general”. Does DFA have a position for that now?Shouldn’t that be handled by the BFSA?
I remember when I was covering DFA, a senior official would be sent to investigate specific problems in certain posts. Like I remember Amb. Garrido investigated the problem in the Embassy in Moscow during Ambassador Alejandro Melchor’s time.
Ellen,
Espiritu’s contribution to the Philippine-UK relations is virtually nil.
A top-ranking British government consultant told me recently that Espiritu is as useless as his cactus plant; that the man tends to muddle issues instead of “de-muddling” them.
But we do know that in terms of building “good” relationship with media, Espiritu is veeerrrrry good at wining and dining Manila’s top media honchos who visit London (one in particular)… and driving them around, hah! He’s been known to go out of his way to be virtually subservient, i.e., picks them up at their hotel, drops everything he’s doing to cater to his visitors’ bidding.
Of course, such media posturing entails the use of Phil Embassy assets. Hehheh!
Espiritu got the ambassadorship to London as payment by Gloria Arroyo for his turning against Estrada during the impeachment trial. His dismal performance is not surprising. That’s what we get when the criteria used was political debt rather than competence.
Ellen,
There is no full-time inspector general. The practice is to send de facto investigators working under the supervision and control of the undersecretary for administration. Sometimes the undersecretary himself goes to a specific post to investigate.
What the DFA needs is an office dedicated specifically to doing the work of a genuine, honest-to-goodness inspector general. Not the ad hoc arrangements at present.
Among other things, the BFSA decides on administrative cases brought before it. But there is no body that does the constant “inspecting” needed to insure the maintenance of discipline and morale before matters reach the stage where a case is filed.
Under the original Foreign Service Act, if I recall correctly, the job of an inspector general was taken on by the assistant secretary for fiscal affairs. Even under that arrangement, the inspector general role was just an add-on and part-time function.
an inspector general is a good idea. so is an ombudsman.
an anonymous complaint ( which can only be a hand-written letter) can be made but only in the first stage. once a charge is made , the accused will have to confront his accuser. hence anonymity will give way to due process.
the initial anonymity benefits complainants with ranks lower than the accused.
needless to say, all cases will be strictly confidential.
thus, the media can cover a hearing only when the public interest requires it. in administrative cases, that should be rare.
these ambassadors who are due to retire must not be appointed anymore there are young career ministers and there are career ministers who had just been promoted to ambassadors.
I agree with you completely. It retards the organization.
Most countries will not hesitate to recall or relocate a diplomat that was involved in a diplomatic, personal or criminal misbehavior. The question of costs is irrelevant in this case, except in specific situations as Amb. Cruz has pointed out e.i. sending a diplomat close to his/hers retirement.
Not recalling a problematic diplomat for reasons of costs may eventually cost a great deal more as a result of official or unofficial sanctions by the host country.
The behavior of Amb.Villarroel ,and Modena in Paris, as Anna de Brux wrote, is a classic case where diplomats should have been recalled. The question is why did the DFA leave them in their posts. Having unfit workers in the organization, any organization, is one of the major causes for decay. Sending them home is a must for a healthier environment and achievements.
Enforcer,
Sorry, I think I made a mistake – hindi Maraan yata ang family name of my ex-barkada in Paris decades ago (ugh!). First name Ed confused me with a family name that sounded similar to Maraan.
Last time I bumbed into Ed (ex-Paris) was in 1998 in Manila during a PECC conference; he was with protocol.
Thanks for the info anyway.
Maybe you were referring to Ed Paraan. He had been in Paris and then served in DFA Protocol.
YES!!!!! It’s Ed Paraan – hah! Where is he now???
I believe he is in Caracas, Venezuela.
Eric,
I fully support your position!
Thanks Enforcer…Hobnobbing with Hugo Chavez I presume, heheh!
Ellen,
Forgive this intrusion again into your blog with a personal inquiry but I really would appreciate if Enforcer could tell me if he knows where Rey Carandang is now? He was also posted in Paris but last time I talked to him years ago was when he was still posted in Madrid. I wonder if he’s retired from the service.
Just that Ed, Cynthia and Rey were part of my “young” set when we were (once) very, very young (sigh!) then one day, we all lost contact with each other but all of a sudden, thanks to your blog, I’m obtaining news about them.
Thanks.
Rey Carandang is in Manila. He has recently been designated assistant secretary for American affairs. He is a long way from retirement.
Thank you Enforcer! I wonder if his office covers the VFA affairs…hmmm