Acting Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario surprised everybody when he flew to Tripoli in Libya the day after he was sworn into office by President Aquino to oversee the evacuation of some 24,000 Filipinos in the African country which is now being rocked by violent protests between the forces loyal to strongman Muammar Gaddafi and rebels who want to end his 42-year dictatorship.
Not everybody applauded saying that the secretary’s job is at the home office to oversee the gargantuan evacuation operation. They said he was exposing himself unnecessarily to risks and added more pressure to the overburdened staff of Philippine embassy .
(Why is del Rosario’s title ‘acting secretary’? To allow him to assume the position of foreign secretary without confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.
Under the law, all cabinet appointments by the President have to pass CA approval. He can only make cabinet appointments without CA approval when Congress is not in session.Congress is in session now but was not scheduled to meet the week del Rosario had to assume the job because of the emergency in Libya.Thus, the ‘acting” title. Del Rosario’s title will be upgraded once confirmed by the CA.)
True, in normal times a foreign secretary oversees the evacuation from the home office. But situation is not normal at the DFA. It has gone from bad to worse since Aquino gave in to his sisters and the Iglesia ni Cristo and retained Alberto Romulo, Gloria Arroyo’s foreign secretary.
It may not be exactly fair to the hardworking but confused DFA personnel but the once-premier agency has acquired the image of a “do- nothing” department. What with families of the beleaguered OFWs complaining of not being able to get through the limited number of hotlines. If they were able to get through, no human being answered the phone. Probably DFA was undermanned.
Del Rosario’s trip to Libya gave the impression of a pro-active, take charge leadership, a far cry from the previous situation in DFA. It may just be projection but it gives a positive signal to the public.
Del Rosario will have a lot of cleaning up and putting things in order to do at the DFA. We wish him luck.
What happened in the DFA in connection with the situation of Filipinos in Libya now should make Aquino realize the importance of the department in governance.
It should also remind him of his responsibility as government steward. Positions are not to be given out to family friends as a favor. Each and every appointment should make sure that government money is being used wisely and effectively to serve the interest of the Filipino people.
Related info:
BIODATA-Albert-Del-Rosario
Good job, Mr. DFA Secretary!
Chartering a ship is a nice touch, too.
“hardworking DFA personnel? there maybe two or three of them but mas marami ang hardly working pa seguro.. Sec. del Rosario showed what gov’t service is all about particularly in times of crisis or problems…salamat at may isang del Rosario na naglilingkod para sa ating bayan…just wondering would Romulo have done the same? “bato bato sa langit ang matamaan ay huwag magagalit.” sana mabawasan na ang mga gaya ni Romulo..at magretire na siya…puede ba Ate walang pakialaman muna when it comes to your personal choice…alam namin na medio mahina ang kapatid mo and he is trying to the best he can to direct people to the matuwid na daan..huwag mo na siyang ituro sa palikoliko at bako bakong daan…
Thank you Ms Tordesillas for this positive news. Finally, we are talking about good people serving the government. Kudos to DFA del Rosario! Time was of essence and no matter what other people say, he did an outstanding job and delivered results on his first day as Secretary carrying the name of the DFA under his wing.
That is fact! Many people in government and DFA are good people. We need balance in our media, and these types of articles encourage the youth to contribute instead of leaving the country that causes brain drain. Our young generation should be motivated to join the government. Their aspiration should be able to lead us in our future for a better tomorrow! Like del Rosario said, “only the best and brightest”.
It’s time we change the reputation of our government. It’s time we appreciate the initial stages of the good in our government. It’s time we move away from the negativity of the walls of the Senate and find the good instead of the bad. May we find more people like Secretary del Rosario and may they outnumber the bad ones to completely revolutionize the reputation of our government!
More Power to DFA! More Power to Sec del Rosario. You give our country a good name! You have a lot of supporters in the international community. Keep up the good work!
Wow! Am impressed! A far cry from the triple nitwit we had!
Agree, Ellen.. And if you notice, he doesn’t dye his hair… no time to waste unlike the perenially black-haired lazy boy Romulo.
Just the man we need. Action agad, walang patumpik-tumpik pa. A far cry from his underlings (and predecessor) who are contented with scratching their balls or tending to their Farmville farms and barely moving their fat asses to see what these bagong-bayani in some darned country are desperately in need of.
The signs of trouble have been manifesting for weeks. Its just now that we are cramming to formulate solutions.
Ellen, why are they stressing on “Acting” Secretary? Any clue as to who will be named permanent Sec?
Pangatlo na pala yung “far cry” ko, hahaha. Nakakaiyak sa tuwa siguro.
🙂 🙂 🙂 ‘Thank heavens for lil mercies’ sort of… hahahaha
Tongue, del Rosario will be permanent foreign secretary once he is confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. His name has not yet been submitted to the CA.
Under the law, all cabinet appointments by the president has to be confirmed by the CA. Del Rosario cannot assume the position of foreign secretary unless the CA confirmed him. Since Malacanang cannot rush the CA to do that,del Rosario had to settle with “acting secretary” for now. That way he was able to function his job as foreign secretary even without having been confirmed by the CA.
The President can only make ad interim appointments to cabinet positions without CA confirmation when Congress is not in session. I think Congress will still have their break this month.
That’s the reason for the delay in the assumption of office of del Rosario even when Romulo had already gone on indefinite leave February 18.( A source in the DFA said Romulo didn’t resign.He just informed Ochoa he was vacating the position. Strange, isn’t it. I surmise he is expecting to be transferred to another office.)
To give more clout to del Rosario, the President appointed him presidential adviser for international relations.
Check out this related article: Palace cures defective Romulo appointment (http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=12918)
You might find this useful:
BIODATA-Albert-Del-Rosario
“Palace cures defective appointment..” ok but can they cure Romulo’s defects”? Sana..I wonder…
At last, DFA has a working secretary! Right on, Mr. del Rosario!
.( A source in the DFA said Romulo didn’t resign.He just informed Ochoa he was vacating the position. Strange, isn’t it. I surmise he is expecting to be transferred to another office.)
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Ang *&&^%$ na Berto, why he can’t just surrender and retire in peace in timbukto?!
he is not resigning but simply vacating the office…ang kapal muks talaga…was he ever at his office working? just wondering..
Dapat mag-retire na si tatang Romulo, magsulat na lang ng libro niya, para sa ka-alaman ng mga kabataang nag-aaral, mabutu man o masama. Papaano, siguro, sumasahod pa din siya, pera ni Juan de La Cruz, bilang DFA Secretary, kaya siguro, Acting lang ang mabuting taga-paglingkod na si Albert del Rosario. Sayang, masyadong byu-rakrata ang CA at proseso ng presidential appoinments. Talaga namang “kapal muks “, sabi ni Rose. baka magbaril din sa sarili iyan, kapag pinag-sabihang tapos na siya, at winalis na, di matangap ang mga katutuhanan, pinag-gagawa niya bilang pinaka-puno ng DFA. Isang mabigat na pasanin ni Pangulong PNOY, kasama na itong, “makapal muks” din na si Ombudsman, M.Gutierrez, mga kapit tuko sa sistimang di tama.
Kudos, Isang kabayanihan ang gina-gawa ni Acting Secretary DFA, A. del Rosario, sa pag-punta niya sa Libya at kina-katawan ang peligro ng mga tunay na bayani ng Bayan (OFWs) , na bumubuhay ng ekonomiya ng Pilipinas.
Nagpaparamdam na si Berto. 😛
“I certainly endorsed him because he’s a good friend of mine and a man of integrity. He’s competent. The President would not have chosen a better one than him”. – Romulo
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=660358&publicationSubCategoryId=63
“The President would not have chosen a better one than him”, that’s why he (the president) have to let me go coz’ he found me to be incompetent and an a-hole. Romulo 😛
Ito namang si Zubiri, ingay lang ang contribution, instead of bitching why doesn’t he offer to help, contribute a few million from his pork barrel for starters?
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Zubiri slams gov’t’s evacuation efforts
MANILA, Philippines – The government may have acted “too little, too late” in evacuating thousands of Filipinos out of troubled Libya, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri on Sunday.
http://politics.inquirer.net/politics/view/20110227-322533/Zubiri-slams-govts-evacuation-efforts
Calling all senators, congressmen, governors, mayors, barangay captains, barangay tanods, barangay tagays! Puede bang humingi ng konting barya lang sa mga pork barrels/budgets/allowances niyo kasi medyo kapos ang gobyerno natin sige na naman o?
Sama na rin yung mga malalaking kumpanya dyan na nakikinabang sa mga shopping money ng mga OFW, kahit piso piso lang?!
Let’s all hope that the former “do nothing” DFA is now moving towards becoming the new DBBFA, Department of Best and Brightest in Foreign Affairs! DBBFA, it’s time to come together and act in unison around the world. Start the showdown! It’s your opportunity to shine and become once again the, “Premiere Agency”. We wish you the best!
Me Girl So Very, the Maguindanaon senator is dakdakero as usual! In stead of helping and giving support, he chose that the public remembers he is still a senator by dousing cold water on the govt evacuation efforts.
Better late than never. Wala naman namatay na OFW dahil na late ng konti si Sec. del Rosario. Kung si Berto ang in-charge pa sa DFA baka patay na lahat sila!
OffTopic:
Just came in…
500,000 Metric Ton Philippine Gold Update
Download MP3 file here.
Hi Ellen…
Another off topic if you permit:
Happy birthday Tongue! Many happy returns of the day… 😉
hapi beerdey, TT!
Happy birthday Tongue! Kita ko sa FB pero mas feel ko dito sa Ellenville ikaw gustong batiin. 🙂
Thanks sa inyo. Kita nyon naman kahit bertdey ko, andito ako sa bahay natin. (Langya talaga si Peysbuk, di ka makakapaglihim).
Isang matunog na kiss sabay hug!
From all of us, back at yah, Tongue! 🙂
Belated Happy Birthday, Tongue.
Tongue: ang sabi nga..”better late than never”..’appy birthday!
Bagama’t atrasado na, ako’y taos puso paring bumabati sa isang masugid na tumatangkilik sa blog ni Bb. Ellen na si TonGuE-tWisTeD ng isang maligayang kaarawan at manigong bagong taon. 😛
Happy Birthday Tongue! every month nag ce-celebrate ka yata ng birtday.Jejejeje!
Salamat uli. Siyempre, hanggang di mo ko ini-LBC ng regalo ko o Western Union, bertdey ko hanggang March 1 sa isang taon!
Belated happy birthday TT!
Hindi ko malaman kung concerned tong si Belinda Cunanan o nainggit lang?
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Del Rosario should not be praised; he should be chastised
Acting Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who was sworn in only a few days ago, did not act as a responsible official of the Republic when he entered Tripoli last Sunday to lead a convoy of 40 vehicles loaded with Filipinos across the deserts of troubled Libya, to the safety of neighboring Tunisia. Sure it sounded romantic—like a scene straight from a John Le Carre spy novel—and he doubtless meant well. He probably wanted to inspire people and show the stranded OFWs that government cared. But unfortunately, the swashbuckling action of the country’s top diplomat, an aging fomer business and civic leader earlier appointed Philippine Ambassador to Washington in the Arroyo administration, was also quite irresponsible.
Theatrical, reckless and irresponsible
Had anything happened to the 72-year old Secretary while on the six-hour journey from Tripoli to Djerba on the Tunisian border, such as being hostaged by pro-Khadaffi forces or being killed by a bomb, it would have created a far greater problem for the Philippines than the extrication of the thousands of Filipinos from Libya and other troubled countries. The rescue of such a high-ranking official would have been top priority, completely sidelining the massive rescue effort of our OFWs.
http://www.polbits.com/2011/03/del-rosario-should-not-be-praised-he.html
Well, we all know where Bel is coming from…also Bobi Tiglao. They should just shut up and not be lap dogs anymore. if they continue, they’ll soon see a more rapid decline of their “credibility” as social commentators.
# 35
Credibility? Belinda and Tiglao? Meron ba? 😛
Please don’t even bother about Bel Cunanan. I wasted my time reading her blog because it was posted here (she got a free traffic ride from Ellen) only to find out it’s all garbage…go straight to the comments. The comments are refreshing!:-) She got busted, good for her!
There’s an email thread by retired ambassadors and they shared with me some of their views on the ongoing Middle East evacuation:
From former Ambassador Rodolfo Arizala:
The first line of defense of a country in a democracy is the ministry or department of foreign affairs. The second line of defense is the armed forces. The latter is employed only when diplomacy fails or unable to act or do its assigned primary duties.
In our beloved country, the prestige or image of our armed forces is being tarnished by the alleged acts of a few of its generals regarding the handling of funds under current Congressional investigations. Now, due to the political upheavals in the Middle East, there are certain comments from the press and members of our society which may tarnish wittingly or unwittingly the image of our first line of defense – the Department of Foreign Affairs. I refer to the following statements in the column of Malaya newspaper, 02 March 2011 by Ms. Ellen Tordesillas:
“It may not be exactly fair to the hardworking but confused DFA personnel but the once-premier agency has acquired the image of a “do-nothing” department. What with families of the beleaguered OFWs complaining of not being able to get through the limited number of hotlines of the department. If they were able to get through, no human being answered the phone. Probably DFA was undermanned.”
Just because calls of families of OFW’s allegedly “not being able to get through the limited number of hotlines of the department”, it is already concluded that we have “confused DFA personnel” and a “do-nothing” department.
I hope we are not bound to be engaging in “potemkin journalism” in our country especially in times of emergency or difficulties.
I am sure that DFA personnel in the field as well as in the home office are doing their best, working without complaints under trying and difficult circumstances 24 hours a day in the protection, care and security of our people abroad. I received for example information from Amb. Nitoy Valeriano how he and his colleagues in the field, without sleep since the Middle East Crisis erupted in Egypt and then spilled over to nearby countries, are doing their best towards the successful repatriation, protection and safety of our kababayans abroad.
I hope we are not making DFA the “whipping boy” of a few discontented elements in our society.
Rudy A.
Retired Ambassador Johnny Ona:
Ka Rudy should know how diplomats work because he was in Tehran when the Khomeini revolution took place.
These are times of crisis when tens of thousands of OFWs and their families have to be evacuated. Everything is being done to assist our OFWs within the limited resources available. It is so easy to preach and hurl invectives when one is not on the scene of the action.
I salute our diplomats who are now at great personal sacrifice engaged in helping our OFWs come home. They should know that their efforts are appreciated.
Fr Mac Arthur Corsino:
We salute our DFA personnel laboring hard on the ground in troubled conditions. We should note that even if we are able to successfully assist over 80% of, say, 20,000 OFWs, the 4,000 still to be assisted or contacted will be the ones who will gripe and complain, call their kin in Phil, be interviewed by media, be published, etc.
This is to be expected. The satisfied will hardly be heard from; it is the complainers’ impatience that usually gets more media attention. We of course will not abandon a single OFW, as we are prepared to assist them to the last man.
But given the limitations, we cannot possibly reach every one instantaneously at the same time– especially over a vast and distant geographic expanse– even with utmost effort. This is almost always true in all situations of crisis, of civil unrest, or disasters affecting our OFWs.
We understand the plaints, but the complainers cannot diminish the courage and dedication of our DFA staffers at the frontlines, amid the turmoil in the field.
However much these DFA supporters/defenders would like to praise themselves, the final question will still have to be asked, after the last flight out: Did we satisfy the needs of all our OFWs in Libya? How did we compare against the other countries?
Until then, self-congratulations are premature. Hardwork is but one facet, efficiency/success is another.
We can’t blame the OFW families who only want to get the message across to the gov’t entity involved. If you can’t even talk to DFA to inform them (if they don’t know yet) that certain OFWs are stuck somewhere because the phones were unmanned, the next thing to do is to elevate your concerns to Malacañang and/or to media. Or panic.
Instead of blaming media, they should be thankful that they got timely and accurate info that made their jobs much, much easier, right?
Credit will come later of course, if DFA really did a good job. It will come from not just from the OFWs themselves but also those who are aware of what were achieved.
jug re#34,
Pablog-blog na lang si Cunanan, hahaha. Sinipa na ng PDI, kaya bitter against the whole world.