With the exception of the President himself, the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs is the official face of the Republic of the Philippines in the international community. As a rule, he represents the country in world assemblies and conferences, and deals with all foreign diplomats stationed in Manila. He is also the leader of important Philippine delegations to overseas events. During his time, DFA Secretary Alberto del Rosario led the Philippine panel to the arbitration hearings at The Hague in the Netherlands regarding the Philippine protest against Communist China’s illegal operations in the West Philippine Sea.
Leila de Lima and Feliciano Belmonte Jr., ex-justice secretary and ex-House speaker, respectively, during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, tagged along with that delegation to The Hague (at public expense) even if they had nothing to do with the nation’s foreign affairs—but that’s stuff for another essay.
Incumbent Quezon Mayor Herbert Bautista (whose taxes have made his city a very expensive place to reside in) was also part of last year’s government peace panel to Norway created by President Rodrigo Duterte, even though his participation therein is illegal—but that is likewise material for another article.
Anyway, the recent controversy regarding the nomination of Perfecto Yasay Jr. as Secretary of Foreign Affairs has been most embarrassing to the Duterte administration. At his confirmation hearings before the Commission on Appointments (CA), it was revealed that Yasay had been an American citizen all along. For this reason, the Commission rejected his nomination.
How Yasay even got nominated to head the foreign affairs portfolio is itself a mystery. When President Fidel Ramos appointed Yasay chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during his term, Ramos failed to ascertain Yasay’s citizenship. Yasay also made an unsuccessful run for the Senate in 2010 and, like Ramos, the Commission on Elections failed to screen Yasay’s credentials thoroughly.
Undoubtedly, Yasay has a lot of explaining to do. So far, many advocates of good government are considering filing criminal charges against him. Moreover, Yasay deserves the flak he is currently getting because nobody should take Philippine citizenship lightly, especially if one is seeking employment as the country’s top diplomat.
Adding to the problem of the current administration is the controversy surrounding Gina Lopez, President Duterte’s choice for Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Lopez is facing tough opposition in her confirmation hearings in the CA. She is accused of having no substantial knowledge of how the mining industry works. It is also alleged that her family has interests in businesses which are subject to regulation by the DENR.
There was a time when lawyer Salvador Panelo’s appointment as President Duterte’s spokesman was criticized by the media. The comments against Panelo prompted Duterte to assign him to another post in his cabinet.
Indeed, President Duterte needs to appoint cabinet members who will not embarrass him, and who do not have skeletons in the closet to haunt both the appointing authority and the appointee in the future.
Yasay’s unceremonious ouster from the DFA has compelled President Duterte to designate a caretaker foreign affairs secretary. Since the President is currently scouting for Yasay’s full-pledged successor, he may be open for some suggestions.
That the next DFA secretary must be a seasoned, accomplished, and upright career diplomat is a must. Because Yasay did not possess these qualifications, his departure from the DFA is actually a blessing for the country and for the President.
An experienced diplomat will not need to “learn the ropes” upon his appointment. Precisely because he is a seasoned diplomat, he will not waste valuable time training for his job. He can hit the ground running, so to speak.
As a rule, experience creates competence. Thus, an experienced diplomat will be competent to discuss delicate issues relating to foreign relations with the president. This way, the President gets to know exactly what he needs to know in the unstable, volatile world of international relations.
Unlike a political appointee, a career diplomat heading the DFA will be immune from needless criticism from within the ranks of the department. He will readily earn the respect of other Philippine diplomats and DFA officials and employees as well because he came from the ranks. In other words, he is one of their own.
For DFA secretary, a name that comes to mind is Ambassador Jesus Yabes, an incumbent undersecretary in the DFA. Office records reveal that Yabes is a seasoned and accomplished career diplomat, and a lawyer, too, having graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
Yabes satisfies the experience, career, and integrity requirements —he’s been with the DFA since the late 1970s even before he became a lawyer, and has served in various overseas assignments through the decades. His service record is spotless, having no involvement in any local or overseas anomalies. He also leads a modest, quiet life, unlike many others who maintain ostentatious, even scandalous lives.
When the deadly ebola virus crisis broke out in West Africa in 2014, many Filipinos there needed to be evacuated and repatriated before the disease took its anticipated toll. For this purpose, the DFA organized the Philippine Rapid Response Team under the close watch of Yabes. The team went to West Africa and, despite the obvious discomfort of life in a crisis zone, the seemingly unsurmountable threats to their own health, and the possibility of getting killed by native troublemakers, accomplished their mission. Their heroism is told in the book Bring Them Home: The Philippine Rapid Response Team to the 2014 West Africa Ebola Crisis, which was launched last May. I attended that book launch.
Appointing Jesus Yabes DFA Secretary will be a step in the right direction in the DFA for President Duterte. Yabes will be someone this no-nonsense president will be glad to have in his cabinet.