UESDAY DECEMBER 22, 2009 PHILIPPINES

Inconsistent CA

REY O. ARCILLA

‘Why did it bypass Cuenco’s appointment and not Benedicto’s? They are both political appointees.’

THE Carlos P. Romulo Foundation, in cooperation with the Asian Institute of Management and ABS News Channel (ANC), is hosting a forum on the subject of "Philippine Credibility and Competitiveness in the World."

Invited are presidential candidates Benigno Aquino III, Joseph Estrada, Richard Gordon, Gilbert Teodoro, and Manuel Villar.

The forum, which will be held at the AIM on 14 January 2010, is also intended to elicit the candidates’ views on foreign affairs.

In this regard, I hope the interlocutors will dwell at length on RP-US "special" relations on which our foreign policy is principally anchored. Specifically, the candidates should be asked their views on the Visiting Forces Agreement and the archaic Mutual Defense Treaty which, among others, restricts our ability to buy arms and military equipment from anyone other than the US. That is one reason we will never be able to modernize our armed forces.

It would also be good to know the candidates’ stand on the MILF problem and what they think the American agenda in Mindanao is and what they’d do about it.

It’s about time we had a truly independent foreign policy as mandated by the Constitution. Ours is perhaps the only Constitution in the world that contains such a provision. Any self-respecting nation is presumed to have an independent foreign policy. It needn’t be specified in its fundamental law. And yet, I dare anyone to say that we have a truly independent foreign policy.

Another interesting subject would be the appointment of political ambassadors.

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In a letter dated 16 December 2009, Senator Miriam Santiago, chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Commission on Appointments (CA), urged Ms. Gloria Arroyo to refrain from making "midnight" appointments of political ambassadors.

Santiago said it costs the government more or less P10 million to relocate the incoming and outgoing ambassador in a post.

"But if there are only six months left of an incumbent president’s tenure, this would be unnecessary expense because the new president will likely make his own political appointments," she said.

It was on this basis, on the surface at least, that the nomination ofCongressman Antonio Cuenco as ambassador to Italy was deferred by the CA.

But why was the nomination of Francisco Benedicto, another political appointee, as ambassador to China confirmed by the CA? Benedicto was appointed by Arroyo to India hardly a year ago. So how come he is now being moved to China with only six months left in Arroyo’s stolen presidency?

Benedicto, who belongs to a very wealthy family in Cebu, has allegedly never charged his relocation expenses to the DFA during his previous assignments. That is not the point. The point is he is a political appointee and Arroyo has only six months to go.

The assignment of ambassadors should not be done merely at the whim of the appointing power. The interest of the country itself must be of paramount consideration. As earlier stated, Benedicto has been in India for hardly a year. Could he have served the nation’s interest in that country in such a short time? No way! By the same token, will he be able to serve the nation’s interest by being in China for six months? No way!

And how do you think India and China feel about the seeming lack of importance we accord to our relations with them?

So I ask again – why was Benedicto confirmed? For political expediency?

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In the same letter, Santiago informed Arroyo of the CA’s desire to have Ambassador Victoria Bataclan reinstated as DFA assistant secretary for European Affairs.

Bataclan was earlier removed by future ex-Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo from the post and had her assigned to a nondescript job when she bucked his recommendation for the appointment of DFAUndersecretary Esteban Conejos as permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

Bataclan, in her capacity as president of the Union of Foreign Service Officers, wrote Ms. Arroyo requesting her to have Conejos’ appointment rescinded. It was. In retaliation, Romulo removed her from the European office.

The big question now is will Arroyo direct Romulo to reinstate Bataclan to her previous post? If she does, that would be a big slap on his face. The honorable thing to do would be to resign.

Which way will he go? If he runs true to form, he won’t resign. He’ll tough it out, the derision and ridicule of the DFA personnel notwithstanding, which would translate to an utter lack of delicadeza.

Remember when Romulo said he would support Noynoy Aquino for president and didn’t quit his job?

What puzzles everyone though is how come Arroyo didn’t fire him then. What is his hold on her? Or is it simply because his presence or absence in the cabinet is actually of no consequence? If that is the case, she should relieve him or tell him to resign forthwith to prevent further damage to the DFA and our foreign relations in the next six months.

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There is precious little that Ms. Arroyo has done that merits praise and support. One of them would be her directive to government agencies concerned to work harder to improve English proficiency in the country, as recommended by Economic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos.

Santos said that China (there are reportedly 170 million Chinese now learning English) is catching up fast with India in English proficiency. This development could affect our competitiveness in sectors that require English skills like call centers.

English is now the lingua franca of the world, especially in business. If we are to remain competitive, we have to work harder on the continuing deterioration of our proficiency in the language.

The employability in the country itself of our college graduates depends a great deal on their command of English. And for a good reason. Business in the private sector and in government is conducted in English. Even our laws are crafted in English.

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Text message of the week: "And hirap sa ating presidente, alis nang alis… uwi rin naman nang uwi!" (The same thing may be said of future ex-foreign secretary Romulo who, as of this writing, is freezing in a snow storm in Washington.)

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Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for, at least the second half of 2010, better governance of the country.

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There are 190 days left before the end on 30 June 2010 of the stolen presidency of Ms. Arroyo, courtesy of "Garci", et al.

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Today is the 231st day of the third year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.

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Email: roacrosshairs@yahoo.com