An international embarrassment

Concerned about how Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo treated the president of the Union of Foreign Service Officers, Victoria Bataclan, foreign service corps, including non-career employees, want to send this letter to Gloria Arroyo.

“We, the concerned members of the Philippine Foreign Service Corps, are dismayed at the action of Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Alberto G. Romulo to relieve Ambassador Victoria Bataclan of her duties as Assistant Secretary for the Office of European Affairs.

“Ambassador Bataclan is one of the best and brightest of our senior career foreign service officers. We therefore view the action of the Secretary as a retaliation against her for voicing the concern of the career foreign service corps over the appointments of political ambassadors.

“Instead of engaging in a dialogue with the UNIFORS and its President Ambassador Bataclan, Secretary Romulo chose to punish Ambassador Bataclan which also serves notice to others of the consequences of exercising their right to dissent.

“The behavior of Secretary Romulo in this instance is just one of the many examples of the quality of leadership or lack thereof which the Department of Foreign Affairs has had to bear since he took office, not only in the management of the Department but in the substantive conduct of the country’s foreign relations. His grasp of foreign affairs leaves much to be desired and decisions on important foreign policy issues are, if not ambivalent, absent and many times have led to embarrassment.

“He runs the DFA like his fiefdom, often deciding the fate of the officers and staff without the benefit of consultation. He uses the Department’s limited resources for unnecessary expenditures, most glaring of which are frequent foreign trips in the guise of promoting better relations but are actually jaunts. It is therefore not surprising that among the rank and file, there is widespread discontent and loss of confidence on his ability to lead the DFA, a fact that the Secretary probably does not realize because he is not in touch with them.

“We request you, Madame President, to help us stop this deteriorating state of affairs in the DFA. You have an able, dedicated, hardworking and committed career foreign service corps who is always ready to protect and advance the national interest of the country. But we also need an enlightened and wise pilot at the helm who can inspire and lead us especially in these challenging times.”

The foreign service corps believe that the relief of Bataclan was Romulo’s retaliation for the letter she sent to Malacañang last Oct. 1, in behalf of UNIFORS, protesting the appointment of Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs Esteban Conejos, Jr. as Philippine representative to the United Nations in Geneva because it violated foreign service rules and is not cost- effective with only seven months left of the Arroyo administration.

The latest open letter to GMA is the strongest statement yet I have read coming from foreign service corps, who by the nature of diplomacy, usually are sedate in their actions.

They must have had enough of Romulo’s booboos when they decided to put this sentence in their letter: “His grasp of foreign affairs leaves much to be desired and decisions on important foreign policy issues are, if not ambivalent, absent and many times have led to embarrassment.”

We fully understand. Reporters covering the diplomatic beat, many times, would only squirm in embarrassment during Romulo’s press conferences. He is a far cry from his cousin, Roberto Romulo, who was foreign secretary during the Ramos administration.

One time, he was talking of an Asean Defense Pact, similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. There is no such thing. The complications of such an idea is enormous. A member of his staff was just shaking his head. After Romulo’s briefing he had to plead to reporters to please erase from their notes what his boss babbled about.

Dizzy perhaps because of his non-stop travels, he couldn’t remember anymore the forms of government of neighboring countries. A few years ago in an Asean summit, during a turnover by then Malaysia Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar of the chairmanship of the standing committee to the Philippines, Romulo referred to Malaysia as a “Republic.” Realizing his mistake, he said, “Kingdom of Malaysia”. Wrong again.

Albar informed him that Malaysia is a “federal constitutional monarchy.”

In an environment where travel is part and parcel of their work, DFA employees are astounded by Romulo’s insatiable desire to be in other parts of the world except the Philippines. He is always accompanied by his wife.

“He doesn’t let any opportunity pass even if he knew that he would just sit in the audience in that meeting,” a senior officer said. DFA insiders said it may have something to do with the $3,500 allowance that he collects (over and above his and his wife’s first class plane fare and hotel accommodation plus per diems and other perks) that he gets for every “sector” that he visits.

An officer explained to me that if Romulo goes to Germany, he gets $3,500 allowance for that “sector”. If he also visits another Middle East country in that same trip, he gets another $3,500.

After the story on the relief of Bataclan came out, Romulo assigned Bataclan “special adviser to the Philippine presidency of the Non- proliferation Treaty 2010 Review Conference. “

It’s the turn of the non-aligned countries to head that important undertaking and the Philippines was able to get the chairmanship.DFA spokesman Ed Malaya said, “ The review conference is chaired by Amb. Libran Cabactulan.It is an assignment where her (Bataclan) expertise is most needed.”

How Cabactulan got the position to head the review conference is a subject that need to be tackled separately. But DFA sources said disarmament experts in New York, Geneva and Vienna are not impressed with him so far, so a group to assist him headed by Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon was formed. So, what’s the need for Bataclan there?

“Vicky’s position is non-portfolio and did not come with an office assignment. It’s just a title,” an officer said.

At this point in time, it’s too late for Romulo to learn about the substantive issues in foreign relations.

But it’s not too late for him to redeem himself to the foreign service corps and to the Filipino people. One, he should withdraw the travel orders he issued to Conejos which Malacañang has withheld. Two, he should stop wasting taxpayers money by letting the ambassadors represent the country in meetings abroad. Three, he should resign now.