PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III defended his appointment of former Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras as interim foreign affairs secretary amid concerns from ranking Filipino diplomats over possible midnight oil exploration deals in the West Philippine Sea.
Aquino told reporters on Wednesday he appointed Almendras because of his role in repairing strained relations between Manila and Hong Kong following the 2010 Luneta hostage crisis that resulted in the killing of eight Hong Kongers.
“He has of course my utmost trust and confidence. He has proven his skills in so many different fora. At the end of the day, I want to take full advantage of his assistance to me in my remaining 113 days in office,” Aquino said.
“It will be very difficult to get somebody to go through all of the hardship in this post with the expectation that he will only do it for 113 days,” he added.
But a ranking Department of Foreign Affairs official raised concern on the position of Almendras over the country’s South China Sea row with China because he was the one who proposed as energy secretary that the country pursue joint exploration deals in the West Philippine Sea.
A foreign affairs official noted that when Almendras was energy secretary from 2010 to 2012, he proposed that 15 offshore territories, including two areas near Palawan province, be offered to foreign companies for joint exploration.
The official said it was also during Almendras stint at the DoE that the Aquino administration agreed to allow Chinese government-owned firm Sino Petroleum Corp. to conduct oil exploration in the disputed Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea.
The move, critics said, the Aquino administration gave China valuable intelligence and data on the location of our oil and natural gas reserves in the Spratlys.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares described the deal as “treasonous” and a “sell out” of Philippine national interests.
Moreover, the official said Almendras’ appointment amazed DFA officials since outgoing Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario already made a sound decision in turning over his duties to the able and career diplomat Undersecretary Laura del Rosario.
Also on Wednesday, the DFA’s Union of Foreign Service Officers welcomed the appointment of Almendras as new DFA chief and assured their new chief of their full support and cooperation in pursuing the country’s foreign policy objectives.