FIRST PART: FOREIGN AFFAIRS SECRETARY DELIA ALBERT'S SPEECH AT THE MOPC
MANILA, August 14 , 2004 (STAR) Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Speech delivered before the Manila Overseas Press Club on Aug. 12, 2004 at Ristorante La Dolce Fontana in San Juan)
Today, I have a confession to make.
In 1967 when I joined the Department, one of my secret weapons and my partner as the "cordon sanitaire" of Secretary of Foreign Affairs Narciso Ramos, was his MOPC membership card. With the card, I could take some of his guests to the MOPC at the Admiral Building on Roxas Boulevard. I also used my presence at MOPC to give the idea that my boss will be there – while he escaped to other meetings that we didn’t want to publicize.
Sometimes, I succeeded in convincing Kiko de Leon of Chronicle, Kit Tatad of Bulletin and Doro Doronilla of Daily Mirror that indeed my boss was at MOPC, when all the while he was meeting with special envoys.
Unfortunately, as Secretary of Foreign Affairs myself, I have no membership card in any association or clubs which my assistants or staff could use to distract attention from my movements.
Thank you Manong Max for the invitation to MOPC breakfast. I had hoped that the dinner with the President at the Intercontinental last Friday was sufficient to cover your concerns on Philippine foreign policy.
Realities And Pillars
(Structure, content, form and substance and the three pillars of RP foreign policy)To make sure that Philippine foreign policy would not only be truly relevant but also focused, President Arroyo has identified specific realities of the regional and international environment that would guide Philippine foreign policy under her leadership. These realities acknowledge the new and emerging roles of certain countries and groups of countries and pinpoint the issues that directly bear on our interests. With the President’s eight realities fully presented to you last Friday, let me focus on the three pillars of foreign policy, as we view it from the DFA.
When I was appointed by the President last year following the demise of Secretary Ople, one of my concerns as a career diplomat of 37 years was to improve the structural framework within which to situate our foreign policy. This way, I can better explain or define what we at the DFA do.
That structural framework is built around three pillars.
First – the preservation and enhancement of national security; Second – the promotion and attainment of economic security through the mobilization of external resources of economic advancement and social development; and
Third – the protection of the rights, and the promotion of the welfare and interests, of Filipinos overseas.
These pillars overlap and cannot be considered apart from each other. They reinforce each other and must be addressed as one whole. I will illustrate this by discussing three specific cases: the President’s ten-point agenda, the Angelo de la Cruz case and our bid for observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
Philippine Foreign Policy Perspectives
But before that, I would like to touch briefly on certain perspectives of Philippine foreign policy.
For the President, foreign policy is not a luxury but a tool. For the President, foreign policy has little meaning unless it brings change that is relevant. Foreign policy is most relevant when it works for the people. It is most relevant when it is shorn of its mystique and is better understood.
And when it is better understood, when there is greater national support and consensus behind it, Philippine foreign policy is at its most effective. The Philippines as a nation can no longer be exclusively defined by conventional notions of territorial metes and bounds.
Dramatic progress and developments in trade and technology, commerce and communication, have created a smaller world. It may be a smaller world but it is a world that is infinitely more complex.
Our vital interests lie wherever there are Filipinos. Our more than seven million overseas Filipinos are in over 165 countries and on ships on all the world’s oceans. Events in other countries and regions impact our own.
Our vital interests lie wherever events in the rest of the world impact on our nation. In today’s globalized world, developments in other parts of our shrinking planet cause not only ripples but also massive waves that hit our shores with the speed of thought and the ferocity of a storm.
Today, world peace and global stability are no longer political abstractions. The need to preserve and maintain the peace and security of mankind is a harsh reality that lays bare the clear and pressing demands on our diplomacy.
In this complex and challenging world, our profound and vital interests stand on the three pillars of our foreign policy which I have identified.
The President’s Ten-Point Agenda
All of you are familiar with the 10-point agenda that the President laid out during her inaugural speech. At first glance, these are all specific projects that may not seem directly connected to the work of the DFA, but given the mindset of relevance and change, the DFA as an institution can and will contribute its share towards achieving these goals.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs through the 2,332 men and women who represent us in the Home Office and in our 85 posts abroad, is often said to be our first line of defense against such issues as terrorism, transnational crime, and regional tensions and instability.
It should be pointed out however, that just as we are in a position to prevent unwanted foreign influences or events from affecting our country, we are also in the best position to attract or negotiate for much needed foreign investment, transfer of technology and development assistance. In this way, the 10-point agenda, which the cabinet has incorporated in a broader National Development Agenda, can be addressed by the Department.
Even in this context, it would seem that the President’s ten-point agenda would only involve our economic diplomacy pillar. But a fundamental requirement for the Philippines to strengthen its economic and trade relations is to have good political relations.
Common political and security interests often translate into economic interests. Unless we have good and friendly relations with states, we cannot expect them to trade or invest with us.
(To be concluded)
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2004
by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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