It used to be that during cabinet meetings, the secretary of foreign affairs sat next to the president, to his right underlining the importance given to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Nowadays, if you look at the videos and photos of cabinet meetings , the one sitting next to the president is Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa. I’m not sure where Foreign Secretary Romulo sits. In the unspoken language of power, propinquity is an eloquent indication of one’s standing in the exclusive circle.
It is not only in this administration that foreign relations is unappreciated. The decline was evident in the post-Marcos era. The Arroyo administration was notorious in making it the dumpsite of retired military and police and other persons, like former Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide,whom she owed her continued hold to her unelected presidency.
President Benigno S. Aquino III, who vowed for a reforms , has sadly continued Arroyo’s practice. One of Aquino’s early appointments was retired retired Lt. Gen. Nestor Ochoa as ambassador to Brunei. Ochoa briefly held the position of chief of staff of the Armed Force of the Philippines when Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit resigned and Malacañang was paving the way for the appointment of now AFP Chief Ricardo David. Ochoa replaced former AFP Chief Alexander Yano.
Last week, it was reported that the chairman of the Commission on Election Jose Melo was being persuaded to resign earlier than the end of his 2005 because Malacañang has somebody in mind for the position.
Melo had retired from the Supreme Court when Arroyo appointed him to Comelec. Comelec Commissioner Armando Velasco said that at 78, Melo is in a retirement mode. “”Sinasabi lang niya na gusto na niyang mag-rest. Mas gusto niya siguro yung work na di ganun ang pressure just like in the Comelec,” he said.
Yet, another commissioner, Rene Sarmiento, suggested that Melo be appointed ambassador.”Puwede siyang maging ambassador. Puwede ring gawing presidential adviser on electoral and judicial reforms,” he said.
What does Sarmiento think of an ambassadorial job, home for the aged?
Sarmiento can’t really be blamed because another early re-appointee of Aquino is Ma. Consuelo Puyat-Reyes as ambassador to Chile. In the DFA, the joke is Puyat Reyes, who is nearing 80 years old, has a franchise on the Chile post. She has been heard to say that the Chilean government wants her because she uphold Chilean interest. Does she know that she is being paid by Filipino taxpayers?
But then what reform in the DFA can one expect since Aquino retained Arroyo’s foreign secretary. A source said Aquino has told Romulo that his stay in the DFA, which he owed to the President’s sisters, would only be up to the end of this year.
Romulo, we learned, has asked that he be appointed as chairman of the Commission on Audit. It seems that Romulo , who is past 77 years old, is not ready to give up enjoying government subsidy because he plans to run for senator in 2013.
If Romulo goes, people in the DFA are hoping that Aquino would appoint someone who could re-invigorate the foreign service to truly serve the country’s national interest in the international relations.
By the way, former House Speaker Jose de Venecia is being considered as ambassador to the United Nations, the post formerly held by Davide.
Joe de Venecia as UN ambassador?! Wala sa isip ang gagawa nito! Hahahah! DFA is a dumpsite and a gravesite for people’s rejects!
Inang natin Folks! Recycled Tradpols ulit…wala na bang iba PeNOY?
Ang sigaw ng Pinoys…pagbabago, at sagot naman ni PeNOY…YES mga Bosing, papalitan ko sila ng bagong-luma.
Sinisinta kong Pinas…saan ka patutungo, ang hirap espilengin talaga…kahit sino ang maupo sa Malacanang e puro broken promises, walang bait sa sarili puro pangako…e drawing pala.
Hahaha… bahala kayo dyan kay Mislang at De Venecia.. basta ko,. masaya sa takbo ng gobyerno.. tulad na lang sa preparasyon na ginawa nila noong nakaraang undas… sa seguridad at kaayusan sa sementeryo at transportasyon…
eto resulta na satisfied ang taong bayan:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/204956/sws-satisfaction-with-govt-institutions-improve-under-aquino-admin
Chairman of COA? Naku, OK na lahat ng gastos, dahil negotiable ang Chief Auditor.
That means all the Glue expenditures can be given the seal of proper spending by the watchdog commission itself.
She’s got the Cheap Justice, the Chairman of the Truth Omission, now the COA Chairman. Talagang lucky bi7ch.
Meantime, puro sablay ang mga bata ng Boss ng Sablay. This is one unlucky dude. Looks like his luck run out after election day.
“What does Sarmiento think of an ambassadorial job, home for the aged?”
😛
Sa tagal ni Puyat Reyes sa Chile, feeling niya eh Chilean na rin siya. Ano ba ‘tong mga gurang na ‘to, ayaw pang magpahinga.
Sa 2013, si Romulo ay otsenta na at balak pang tumakbong senador? Anak ng æ∆π†´¥∂ç√˜´
Ano ba ibig sabihin ng propinquity?
Sablay + Gloria Arroyo’s lapdogs in the employ of Noynoy’s administration = propinquity
Oh the Lure of power and wealth, not only for the young and virile but true for the old and seniles…why have they developed (invented) these ED pills?
What is with the DFA? Why the garbage dump? One would think that bright boys are placed there since it mirrors the nation to the world.
_________
So, as one would expect, PeNoys buddies, his co-feathered birds roost close to him. It’s the natural way of things, afteral.
What is sad, and it becomes more clear that it is not the exception but the norm with PeNoy, that those close to him enjoy his favors. Not exactly what he promised to correct(favoritism and looking the other way) in his campaign. He adopts Gloria’s stonewalling tactics.
Mislang to be posted in the DFA? Not too far fetched, yeah?
More bungling to come folks.
puyat-reyes should be removed in the same way jun siazon was removed from japan. too much affiliation with a country makes an ambassador biased towards the interests of that country. the interests of filipinos tend to be relegated to irrelevance.
speaking of which, chile should be closed down. there are very few filipinos there. an honorary consul can serve the interests of the philippines equally well, if commercial interests are all that matters there.
DFA has indeed become a rubbish bin of old, recycled misfits…
I have long wondered why the DFA is not headed by top notch people. Its equivalent in the US is the Department of State. The US gets top notch Secretaries of State and their State Secretary is the highest cabinet member. You can’t talk about current US foreign affairs without talking about Hillary Clinton.
Granted that the US has a lot of foreign interests (welcome or not), but I don’t see Alberto Romulo’s stature (in terms of ability and achievement) as anywhere near Hillary Clinton’s.
I admit though, that Hillary Clinton is of presidential material (so perhaps the comparison is misplaced) but it just bolsters the argument that the US picks top notch people as Secretaries of State.
03 November 2010
Hehehehe…. what does it mean? it sucks!!!!! how to re-invent the DFA? that question, needs some, not some, but a lot of searching.
In the DFA, even those so called career officials are ass lickers. They lick the asses of those secretary-wannabes to their enjoyment.
That is why, the DFA is becoming the dumping ground for retired military and police officials and other retired (supposedly) former government officials, as well as payment for utang na loob.
So the question of reinvigorating the DFA is a tough tasks for the wannabes, as long the RA 7157 or the foreign service act is not fully implemented to the teeth, nothing will happen to the DFA.
prans
Just to tell you Romulo’s standing with Hillary Clinton.
In one meeting of Asean foreign ministers with dialogue partners (that includes the US), the Asean ministers had their exclusive meeting first before meeting Clinton.
Romulo was not in the meeting. The other Asean minister wondered where he was and the DFA official who was there could not answer.
You know where Romulo was? He was lining up for a picture with Clinton.
Berto lining up for a picture with Hillary. What a schmuck!
“You know where Romulo was? He was lining up for a picture with Clinton.” – Ellen
Pathetic!
Really? Absent at the ASEAN ministers’ meeting but queing up to have his pic taken with Clinton?
Sanamagan… dump this useless fellow in the “unrecyclable” rubbish bin immediately. Total waste of precious and meagre govt rations!
well, we’ve successfully exported our nurses, doctors, care givers, engineers, managers, etc, etc… why not politicians? there’s more where they came from, send some to Somalia or some other exotic assignment?
…and hopefully while jetsetting, the plane crashes…good riddance…
at DFA, ” wine sucks ” tapos walang” pogi” dun, puro gurang.. araw araw, sa dami ng taong pumipila dun, konting stampede lang, para kang nasagasaan ng sang katerbang motor siklo..!!! hehehe… ang pilipinas talaga..!! nakakatawa na talaga!!!
hindi kaya ako makasohan ng plagiarism dito..!!
“why not politicians? there’s more where they came from, send some to Somalia or some other exotic assignment?” – jug
Why not send them to the gas chamber instead? 😛
even if all the political appointees and romulo were removed, the DFA would still be a dumpsite. many of its own people are only second-rate public employees intent on rest and recreation abroad; they would not be suffered by the private sector for gross incompetence.
well, we’ve successfully exported our nurses, doctors, care givers, engineers, managers, etc, etc… why not politicians? ——->jug
_________________________________________________________
Because we only export PROFESSIONALS in the intellectual field. We do not export mercenaries.
More so, we want to maintain the quality of our exports.
Seems to me that many “bad” guys in Pinas, you know the type (thugs) who ply the streets of the country doing bad things to people, to neighbourhoods, etc., won’t qualify for mercenary work abroad. Otherwise, there would be plenty to export. They can terrorise civilians in urban and rural areas in Pinas but am sure will be the first to feel terrorised in hot spots abroad. Fil thugs are thugs in Pinas but become real nice kittens abroad.
bad things lingered because you afraid to face it. it can get worse if you compromise all the time.
Heh,heh,heh…agency for the aged ang DFA. Kelan pa naging retirement homes ang mga mala-palasyong embassies sa iba’t ibang bansa?
More than ever, this Romulo has to go. Pres. Noynoy erred in retaining this GMA loyalist. Marami diyan na mas qualified pa.
Kung baga sa computer, the DFA is the
Ooooops !! Made a boo-boo on that one…….
__________________________________________________________
Anyway, what I was trying to say was that, kung baga sa computer, the DFA is the RECYCLE BIN.