Two names are prominently being mentioned: Edward Go and Alfonso Uy. Both are businessmen which is good because trade relations with China, the world’s economic superpower, is very important.
Go has extensive banking experience (Citibank, United Coconut Planters Bank , Philippine Bank of Communications, China Banking Corporation, Philippine Banking Corporation, Asian Bank). He holds directorship in more than 20 corporations among them the Philippine Long Distance Company and Metro Pacific Investments Corp, both headed by Manuel V. Pangilinan. It’s something that he has in common with the newly-appointed acting foreign secretary, Albert del Rosario, who was also with MPIC before he returned to foreign service two weeks ago.
Uy, an Ilonggo, is chairman of Philippine Foremost Milling Corporation and former president of the Federation of Filipino – Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII). Click here for Alfonso Uy Biodata
There are rumors that some members of the Aquino family were rooting for family friend Domingo Lee but Palace insiders said he is not being considered.
Either Go or Uy would be a vast improvement over Francisco Benedicto whom the President made a mistake of nominating to remain in his post in Beijing where Gloria Arroyo posted him in the last five months of her administration in violation of the foreign affairs practice of not giving a foreign assignment to any diplomat at least three years before retirement.
Benedicto’s assumption of the Beijing post was made possible by the disarray in the Department of Foreign Affairs under the Aquino administration when he retained Alberto Romulo as foreign secretary.
When Aquino assumed the presidency June 30, 2010, Benedicto had not yet presented his credentials signed by Arroyo to the Chinese government. He assumed the post anyway. He was able to present his credentials in September, when the controversial extension given by Aquino to Arroyo’s political ambassadors was to about to end. So in September 2010, when Aquino was already president, Benedicto presented his papers as ambassador extraordinary plenipotentiary of Gloria Arroyo.
He got away with it. Not only that. Many also were surprised when among the appointment papers sent by Malacañang to the Commission on Appointments for confirmation was the name of Benedicto as ambassador to China.
So Benedicto came home and lobbied with the members of the CA for his confirmation. Two members I talked with said he gave them an envelope to facilitate his confirmation. I can only surmise why Sen. Franklin Drilon vowed to block his confirmation.
But what made Malacañang realize the disaster that Benedicto was in Beijing was when, eager to score with Aquino who had earlier justified Philippine boycott of the Nobel peace awards ceremonies to a Chinese dissident with efforts to save three Filipino drug mules in China’s death row, he hinted in a call with Chinese officials that the Philippines is willing to accommodate China’s presence in Philippine-claimed territories in the Spratlys. Just what Arroyo did when her administration signed two controversial joint seismic monitoring agreements with China and Vietnam that have come under fire for purportedly “sacrificing” Philippine interests in exchange for huge loans from China.
DFA officials said Benedicto has been recalled and the Philippine Embassy in Beijing is headed by chargé d’affaires Alex Chua.
Last week’s intrusion of China in the Reed Bank where the Department of Energy is conducting oil exploration should warn the Aquino government of China’s determination to assert its ownership of the whole South China Sea which runs counter to the Philippine position.
With Albert del Rosario at the helm of the foreign affairs department, sense and reason are expected to return in the choice of ambassadors and deployment of personnel in Philippine missions abroad.
It’s important that ambassadors who would be representing the President and the country, especially in China, would be someone competent to navigate through the intricacies of international politics as he does his job of upholding Philippine sovereignty and protecting the interest of the Filipino people.
I bet Alfonso Uy gets the job.
Kahit sino sa kanila ang mapili will be an asset for the country…I don’t know Uy, but Go was in our class sa graduate school sa Ateneo…tahimik pero matinik…at mabait hindi mayabang…
FFCCCII sent me this biodata of Alfonso Uy:
Click here for Alfonso Uy Biodata
I hope we get someone to focus on the “industry” side of foreign relations not just trade and finance. Someone who will be a conduit to an industrial partnership with China, hasten technology transfer, and even open inroads that will determine what “made in the Philippines” products we can sell to China (as well as open the market). Technology transfer also in the sense that will finally point us to the right path in reviving local manufacturing.
Bottomline, we need a working Ambassador, not someone who’s on a vacation or retirement mode.
Secondly, I hope that these people from the private sector that the president tapped for these positions will survive the initial culture shock of the “politics” in government service and not give up on us as he/she will undoubtedly have to deal with the government standards of efficiency as compared to corporate.
…and how many bisdaks do we have in these positions anyway? maybe its about time?
We might be surprised that these “territorial disputes” are not driven by governments per se but by industrial entities influencing policy creation. Instead of the usual international incident/military reactive position template response, we might look into other options? If this is really happening (as it looks like it), we need to have someone who speaks the language of these entities and forge long term sustainable alliances unique to both our countries.
I realise RP envoy to China of Chinese descent could be a plus, if and only if, the person will selflessly and strongly put forward Philippine interests and judiciously enforce good relations with China for the benefit of the Philippines and the Filipino nation.
It is also imperative that the future envoy does not hold dual nationalities, eg., RP & China, lest he/she ends up like that Phil envoy to Madrid (who later on decided he’d rather be Spanish than Filipino).
We are at a crossroads with China over the Spratlys — the future envoy will not only have access to the most sensitive defence and economic intelligence reports and vital/critical documents and possibly that which concern our relationship with the US, and other partners, etc. It is imperative that the future envoy to China will not succumb to China pressure come hell or high water.
If RP must send an envoy to Beijing of Chinese descent, allow me to rephrase he must be reminded of this quote by Theodore Roosevelt which I’d like to re-formulate in the Philippine setting :
When Bill Clinton appointed one of his great campaign supporters who was a naturalised American to a major ambassadorial post, he decided to send her to Paris and no to the Court of Saint James. He did it for a good reason. The woman was formerly a UK citizen and so did not want to remotely stir “conflict of interests.”
Anna,
I would prefer that we veer away from this “espionage” element of ambassadorial posts as well as focusing too much on the impact on relations with the US and other countries but instead focus on Philippine and China relations. My belief is that stability in Asia can be achieved by asian efforts and we may not need interference from other superpowers to do so.
We must be able to establish an impression that we are by no means spying on China for the US or any one else for that matter and that we do not subscribe to this paranoia brought by other forces alien to asia. Instead, we need to assert ourselves in other avenues, like productivity, reliability, trust, technology, etc. We must veer away from the “defense” element of international relations but focus on mutually beneficial relationships, not because we are wimping out but because we need to look for better use of our money than to buy weapons at this point.
War, deterrence, and its related technologies (and cost) only serves the purpose of those manufacturing these technologies, besides, we can’t afford them.
Only those who speak the language of international trade will appreciate such a move and I hope the choice of ambassador and his staff can do the job for us.
Eventually, we will realize that its not the threat of force that forge sustainable, long term alliances, and even respect, but mutually beneficial relationships, one that is anchored on trust and consideration of each other’s welfare.
Hopefully also, the new guy can initiate repatriation of Filipinos in the criminal system of China to serve their sentences here and we do the same with Chinese nationals involved in crimes locally. The way it looks like, these Chinese nationals funding/operating big time shabu labs and drug syndicates here have a better chance of being prosecuted in their native land than here where the law listens to money more than the call for justice.
goodbye merci..!! it`s on my daily prayers.. and after that punish GMA and her cabal`s of evil…!!
All these “exchange of intelligence” stuff between foreign operatives are not even safe, look at wikileaks.
Sending and commenting on these “intelligence” are looking like twitter already, so not a good idea.
goodbye merci..!! it`s on my daily prayers.. and after that punish GMA and her cabal`s of evil…!!
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a good idea, lets all pray for merci, may she find self redemption by revealing the truth.
my vote goes to Alfonso Uy…I also voted for him as President of CPUR way, way back then…he is just a gentleman par excellence.
I will nominate all soldiers who fought tyranny like Magdalos as ambassador to China.
except for the natives of the mountains (ati) wala na man sa atin ang 100% Filipino…many of us are either of Spanish descent or Chinese descent…and many of us also gave up their Filipino citizenship….we, here in the US have dual citizenship and also many have Spanish citizenship…and many of us did change our citizenship for convenience..sa America mas maraming pakinapang kung US citizen ka…but does it make us less of a Filipino?Hinding hindi, far far away (malayong malayo) “I love the Philippines it is land of my birth, it is the home of my people.” ang hirap lang there are a number of Filipino who would deny that they are Filipino…naririnig ka nang nagsasalita ng Tagalog they still would ask “Filipino ka”? and to that I would answer…Bisaya…
another reason why I changed my citizenship is so I have a voice through my vote..walang dahilan magdadat ng dadat at magreklamo against the US gov’t or ang ginagawa ni Obama if you don’t vote..may mga ilan pa din dito na nakalimutan na nila being a Filipino pero paginapalan mo “aray” pa din ang sinisigaw instead of ouch.
..kahit seguro Chinese descent sila Uy o si Go they will do what is right for the Phil…they are decent men and true to their word..they are men of God…kung hindi di patalsikin kaagad..
..bakit si Arroyo (Gloria in particular) lahi ba ng mga Ati?
corr..”pag inapakan” I have a sister in law…on my husband side nakinakakalimutan na niya na she was born and raised in Paranague..but that is her choice..her two sons are not interested about the Phil…thry would ask “Auntie Rose why do you often go home to the Phil.?” to which I would respond..because I love the Phil. samantalang ang pamangkin go gustong gusto umuwi sa Phil..and when asked how he is related to Ellen…with pride he would say “she is my Dad’s cousin”..
…and to go back on Go and UY kahit sino sa kanila let us support PNoy…
rose at 18…most immigrants whose country of origin respects dual or multiple citizenships, do not change citizenship upon acquiring a new one..just adding one more..(in us, it may require a new citizen with countries in had no treaty to renounce his old citizenship before taking on the us citizenship…Canada does not require and always respect multicitizenships…and has only one class…meaning a foreign born citizen has the same rights as the native born..including becoming the PM
at an interview prior to becoming US citizenship, I was asked by the officer..”should the US be at war with the Phil. who do you choose to defend?” of course ang sinagot ko US..deep in my heart I know hindi magkalaban ang dalawa…they both need each other..
during Marcos’ time I had a cousin who was very anti-Marcos and an activist, during his UP days..nawala siya at hindi na nakita, hindi alam ng familia..and the irony of it all..ang sabi ng mga ilan “pinatay daw siya sa mountains of San Remigio, Antique” and to think that ang Lolo niya (the father of his mom ) was known as the grand old man of San Remigio”
Maraming Filipino sa California na di lang dual citizen, triple pa.Iyung kaibigan Madam ko nung HS apat pa,–Filipino, Chinese,American and Senior Citizen.
Go or Uy, sino ang mas rightful na maging Amba to China? Hindi ko pa mabasa ang buong bio nila dahil sa on-off na SmartBro. Kayo na lang muna ang humatol, kasi mukha deserving silang dalawa base sa first info.
The difference my friends between you, me and these gentlemen is that neither you nor I are shortlisted for the ambassadorial post to China, a country with which we are at a crossroads.
And whether we all like it or not, you, I, all of us here at Ellenville may hold multitude of passports but the ideal ambassador to China from poor, old, little, not quite powerful RP is to have a person, even of Chinese descent, whose allegiance shall be 100% for the Republic of the Philippines.
Let us change the names of the candidates instead of Go and Uy change it to Filipinos who are Indian descent names like Singh and Bagatsing with the same backgrounds as Uy and Go.
If you are the president would you send Singh or Bagatsing as ambassador to India?
Hehehehe@Observer, nice observe!
Jug,
You and I may veer away all we want from the espionage element but it would be the height of naivete for an ambassador — and it would be unrealistic and downright inefficient too, to believe for one nano second that ambassadorial posts do not comport a bit of “espionage” whether it is because of our relation with the US or with other western countries.
With regard to your
The Japanese went on a massive invasion and aggression against countries in Asia based on the principle that Asia must be for the Asians.
While I agree that diplomacy today is not so much about defence espionage, it is by no means used by emerging nations or power-hungry countries as a tool to obtain economic intelligence.
Let there be misunderstanding… we are a small nation and it would do well to be vigilant and to ensure that we do not lose our shirt in the exchange just because we believe that the Chinese have the noblest intentions in the world. There is no such thing. Proof: they have unilaterally declared that all of South China Sea belongs to China and it would be the height of negligence to believe that they would be fair and square with regard to the geographical distribution, i.e., ownership of the Spratly Islands.
The reason why we had 10 years of shit under Gloria in this country is because we were so eager beaver to forget certain simple principles in life. Vigilance, as ever… vigilance!
Again, I repeat,
If the candidate for the post possesses that supreme test, then by all means, he should be qualified to be envoy to anywhere in the world. Those who lack that element should not be qualified. As simple as that! Or is that too much to ask?
Ooops, “If the candidate for the post PASSES that supreme test,…”
I think the Magdalos and other soldiers who fought tyranny have proven themselves 1000% that their allegiance is to the constitution of the Republic. They laid their life on the line and not only their life but also their families, their wife and children.
I repeat, I nominate all soldiers who fought tyranny like the Magdalos as ambassador to China.
101% supporting you, Observer, kahit suntok sa buwan na mangyari yan. 🙂
hahahhaha….pinatawa mo ako sa suporta mo, chi….hehehee
natawa ako doon sa suntok sa buwan…..hehehe
miron lang naman kasi tayo dito sa blog e, wala tayong inpluwensya kaya dakdak lang ng dakdak ang magagawa natin dito sa blog.
Anna,
I understand where you’re coming from but we may have to look at it from a historical perspective. The Filipinos have been dealing with the Chinese since pre Spanish time, we had a thriving trade even back then, if ever there were invasions, it came from Spain and the US both non asians. During the 2nd world war the Japanese came because we made ourselves a prime target by hosting American bases.
War and deterrence are the ventures of the vicious, it has been the template eversince and look what it has brought to the world? Who makes guns, bombs, systems? Who buys them? Who benefits from all these paranoia? What is the bottom line?
Whether we like it or not, with the emergence of new markets in asia and the rest of the world, regionalization is inevitable, US/European transnationals will be a thing of the past. Already US and European manufacturing facilities abound in China. The business of war mongering and its support services plus its reason for existence “paranoia” will be kept alive by those industries that benefit from it but eventually will lose its grip as civilization advances.
Expanding territories by force (imperial) will prove to be very costly, it would be better to establish trade partnerships, China, would be better off dealing with a self reliant and productive Philippines than with an occupied territory that they have to subsidize.
Its time we look at other options aside from war and deterrence paranoia, its a “gasgas na plaka” already, and so many generals have made so much money from it already.
Its time to for a paradigm shift in international relations.
The Arroyo administration played this game to the hilt, using the moslem separatists, communist insurgency, terrorism, to justify military spending, and borrowing.
We have rich, fat, and alzheimer ridden generals to prove it.
If we have the money why not use it for food self sufficiency, power generation facilities, and other infrastructures that result in economic development? Shelve the defense modernization for the moment, focus in developing partnerships that ensure mutual protection.
Let go of our paranoia, no one is out to get us.
Jug,
But who is war-mongering? You are stretching this whole episode to something that does not exist. This is not about war-mongering, this is about requiring a future envoy of Chinese descent to pledge 100% allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.
It is about being vigilant. When you have less, you try to make use of whatever little you have so that you don’t lose your shirt in the exchange. That is the essence of vigilance.
We cannot go into any partnership with a powerful country, as greedy as China, as ambitious as her with our eyes half close expecting that all will be supremely dandy for the Philippines because as you infer, China has the best motives at heart.
I agree completely that in this day and age, diplomacy should be about doing what’s best to obtain a win-win situation but that can only happen if we found our desiderata on vigilance.
Again, this is not about war-mongering — to say that it is symptomatic of latent paranoia.
Who is war mongering? As Ellen herself has constantly reminded you, us, all of us here, a diplomatic protest for instance is not about a shooting war. It is about being able to stand up there and say, “Hey fellas, what you are doing ain’t right so please explain…” or some similar shit in order to convey the fact that the country is very well alive and that its people care for their country.
Before you get carried away, Jug, allow me to insist — perhaps, I’ve not been clear, that this is about a candidate for the post who is of Chinese descent to be sent as an envoy that candidate to possess full, unquestionable, 100 allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.
Now, tell me what’s wrong with that.
I write on the premise that anyone up for appointment as the face of the country, the alter ego of the president of the of the republic sent to any foreign country to embody all the ideals, the expectations, and the aspirations of the people of the republic in that foreign post must not have any reservation with regard to that full-pledged 100% allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.
Lest you misinterpret my message which is, more than anything, about a requirement of a future envoy, i.e., 100% allegiance to the Philippine flag, and to no other flag, let me assure you that I am one of the last people in the world to want a war with anyone perhaps because I realise full well the implications of international conflicts on families, inasmuch as I belong to a family with a long, long, long military history, the youngest of whom, my teenage son, is joining Sandhurst.
Before I end this rather repetitive stand (in the hope that I’ve now made things finally clear), Jug, I can’t help but raise what you said here…
By way of reminder, just so you can keep it in the back of your mind that while we all need to establish relations, economic and diplomatic with China, what you say is true, “Expanding territories by force (imperial) will prove to be very costly,” which is precisely why China has upped its defence budget by a few billion dollars.
And by way of keeping your mind at rest too, I don’t believe China will invade the Philippines like the Japanese did… There are other ways of doing it (example, Estonia was “invaded” by Russia when the entire govt’s machinery, including its banking system and other operations that required computer were hacked and downed through cyber warfare) without actually being physical about it. And the best way to make sure that we preserve some shred of dignity and independence is for our future Chinese-Fil envoy to be extremely vigilant with his eyes and ears wide open so that he could use his diplomatic skills to perfection, as surely they will be required, so that you and your children may continue to sleep well at night.
Absolutely good of you to raise this issue, Jug. What you say is true!
And just so you know that China is one of the biggest sellers competing head on with Russia, indiscriminately supplying all these armaments to the volatile regions in Sub-Saharan Africa continent.
observer: why not? Singh or Bagat sing ok lang..basta hindi off tune..was not Rammon Bagatsing a good mayor of Manila? Si Lim (of Chinese descent) was he not a good major of Manila? aywan ko lang ngayon after the incident in Luneta…just because they are of a foreign descent their love for their land of birth is diminished the least bit…unless of course they are naturalized citizens..
corr: Ramon Bagatsing..dito nga sa US si Obama ay may identity crisis…was he born in Hawaii or in Indonesia? Christiano ba siya or Muslim? does he have a dual citizenship and a dual religion? ang punto ay…is he a good President? history will tell…hindi ngayon but in the future after his term!
their love for the land of their birth is not diminished the least bit..
Yes! Let cooler heads prevail! My thoughts exactly Mr. Yudhonoyo.
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‘Let Asean tackle sea incident’
By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Speaking at a joint press conference here with visiting President Aquino on Tuesday, Yudhoyono said he was hoping the South China Sea does not become “an area of open conflict.”
“In Indonesia’s view, if there is an attainment of a solution that we can agree on the issues of territories, I’m sure it is open for opportunities for cooperation and no doubt we will hope that the South China Sea does not become a place of open conflict but in fact become a zone of potential economic cooperation,” he later told reporters.
“That is my hope…(once) it will be attained, the issue of South China Sea will bring benefits to Indonesia and also to all of us,” he added.
At the joint press briefing, Mr. Aquino ruled out any “unilateral action” by the Philippines on the Reed Bank incident, saying joint exploration of the Spratlys with other claimant countries should continue.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110309-324322/Let-Asean-tackle-sea-incident
rose,
masyado mo naman yatang dinidibdib and dual citizenship? 🙂 okay lang yun basta wag lang mapatid ang pasalubong. 🙂
And just so you know that China is one of the biggest sellers competing head on with Russia, indiscriminately supplying all these armaments to the volatile regions in Sub-Saharan Africa continent.
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Ayayay, thank you for telling me this anna, i would never have known. as you said VIGILANCE is needed even as we proceed with our trade relationships and proposed COOPERATION – one that benefits all parties.
Ellen,
Between the two ‘candidates’, I would vote for Mr Uy. I don’t trust the banker in Mr Go.
noong araw we look for things with labels..”Made in USA”; then came “Made in India” Made in Indonesia, etc..pero wala na ang mga ito ngayon…Now it is Made in China…kahit na nga ang mga souvenirs sa Museums dito almost all are “Made in China” pati na nga seguro si Lady Liberty…dati dati din we could find items with Made in the Philipines…mayroon ba pa ngayon?…
Ellen,
Between the two ‘candidates’, I would vote for Mr Uy. I don’t trust the banker in Mr Go.
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same here anna 🙂
dati dati din we could find items with Made in the Philipines…mayroon ba pa ngayon?…
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meron “maid in the philippines” nga lang.
Not bad.
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Taiwan softens as Aquino names David BI chief
By Jerome Aning, Christine O. Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Within a few hours of Malacañang’s announcement designating retired Armed Forces chief Ricardo David as the new head of the Bureau of Immigration, Taiwan removed one of the new visa application requirements it had imposed on Filipino workers bound for the island in the wake of last month’s deportation row.
As a further indication that the iciness in relations with Taipei were thawing, former senator Manuel Roxas, President Aquino’s private emissary, and Amadeo Perez Jr., chair of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco), the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, have been invited to visit the island next week
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110310-324492/Taiwan-softens-as-Aquino-names-David-BI-chief