Our proposal for a debate/forum on foreign policy among the presidentiables was just starting to be discussed in various circles when tropical storm Ondoy hit town. With the national capital region under the lash and another typhoon following a week later, everything was placed on hold, including talk of the 2010 elections and the grand designs of the putative presidential candidates. Such was the scale of the devastation and the sense of vulnerability we all now feel in this new era of climate change and colossal natural disasters that matters like elections become so temporal and trivial by comparison.
But we Filipinos are never one to dwell on our miseries so it was no surprise that the presidential face-off on local government issues that took place at the Asian Institute of Management last Tuesday turned out to be lively and attention getting. Billed as “a job interview”, the forum had 100 local government executives taking turns grilling Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, and Senators Francis Escudero, Manuel Villar and Benigno Aquino III on concerns dear to their hearts.
That riveting forum has served to bolster our keen interest in getting the presidentiables to also open up on their views of foreign relations and the agenda they will pursue should they be elected to the Presidency. As one friend has commented, the foreign policy forum is a must. In this age of globalization where there are few things domestic that aren’t impacted by what’s happening outside our borders, presidential worldviews and foreign relations matter a lot. We don’t want to wind up with a George W. Bush who couldn’t even field the most basic questions of geography.
Forum arrangements
To report first on arrangements, ANC has agreed to televise the foreign policy debate, just as they did the local government forum. TV coverage is indispensable because it is the oxygen for such discussions. TV gives the event currency and reach by taking it to living rooms and offices across the archipelago. Absent the coverage, the forum becomes an academic exercise, frozen within the four walls of the venue. So thank you, ANC for agreeing to broadcast the proposed forum.
This forum is being organized by Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development. It will be held at the SGV Hall of the Asian Institute of Management on Friday, Oct.30 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Interest in the forum is not confined to the media and locals; the foreign diplomatic community is also keenly interested in what the presidentiables have to say about the larger world out there.
We have also settled on the format for the forum. There will be one moderator and three interlocutors who will take turns asking questions of the presidentiables on various issues and concerns in the foreign policy sphere. We’re vetting the interlocutors in terms of their expertise in foreign affairs and knowledge of key Philippine concerns in the international arena.
We have narrowed down the candidates’ field to four: Aquino, Escudero, Teodoro and Villar. They are the candidates who, at this point, seem most likely to be standing when the campaign begins in 2010.
Forum issues
Amazingly, of foreign policy concerns, it’s only the VFA issue that has turned up in the various forums that have been held among the presidentiables. Because the issue has raised a ruckus in the Senate – courtesy of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago – questions are now being fielded by the candidates. And the answers have been strictly from the gut.
Beyond this, nothing remotely touching our stakes in the world have been asked of the candidates. The nation has no idea what policies each will pursue in the global arena if they win in May.
As outlined by the experts’ group that is shaping the forum topics, the Presidentiables Forum on Global Affairs will focus on the following key issues in Philippine foreign policy:
1. Globalization, trade and investments, and the global recession – How will each candidate tackle the challenges and opportunities arising from globalization and respond to the current recession and prepare for future crises?
2. Terrorism and other threats to peace and security – Where do you stand on the issue of terrorism and the US-led war against terror? Should the Philippines proactively work with other nations or stand apart?
3. Climate change – Do you see climate change as an issue for the nation to engage in? Is this an issue you would place priority on? What is your position on the current international effort to mold consensus?
4. OFWs and the difference they make for our country and in the world – What is your position on Filipino labor migration? Do you rein it back or do you favor its further expansion?
5. Diplomatic relations with key states and regions: the US, China and Japan, ASEAN, EU and the Middle East – Which relationship do you consider the most important to our country and our people? How will you advance these ties? What is your position on Myanmar and other problem issues?
6. International institutions and initiatives – How do you view UN, WTO, IMF, the World Bank, APEC, ADB, and other institutional institutions and initiatives? Do you consider them important to the national interest?
7. Philippine international competitiveness – Should we compete in the world? If yes, how will you improve and enhance Philippine competitiveness in the international arena?
8. The changing international order – How is the world changing? What changes do you consider the most important? What should be the Philippines’ role in this changing arena?
Many agree with me that it is imperative that the presidentiables speak of their visions and ideas in the international arena, because their policy agenda in office will doubtless shape how we will conduct ourselves in the world. And it’s vital that we hear them now. They cannot just promise to study and consult once they are already seated and crowned.
If the AIM forum on local government showed us anything, it is the fact that most candidates have not given enough thought to the issues and their policy responses. Most are just winging it, offering general answers, and showing little knowledge of the issues that really matter.
This will not do. The questions will be raised. The presidentiables must supply and defend their answers. And this goes for both the domestic and foreign policy fronts.
The stage is being set for a foreign policy debate. Formal invitations will be sent. We need only the debaters to show up.