How times have changed

(Continuation of Jan. 5 column)

The United States remains the only superpower that can serve as a guarantor of peace and champion of the liberal political and economic order, but its leader, President Donald Trump, has chosen to forsake this role.

“America first” he says, to which some pundits were quick to add “never mind the rest”. In turn, China has become the world’s second largest economy under President Xi Jin-ping, who has become China’s most powerful leader in many decades, with the same stature accorded to Mao and Deng Xiao-ping. He has not been shy to promote China’s global leadership “with Chinese characteristics” as his American counterpart continues to retreat from that historical responsibility.

North Korea now has nuclear capability, but this time led by an unpredictable leader in Kim Jong-un who has not minced words in threatening to use such force for a still undefined purpose even as President Trump assures he has a nuclear button that works.

Across the East China Sea, Japan’s Abe wants to revise his country’s pacifist Constitution aimed principally at defining the role of its Self Defense Force in reaction to Chinese and North Korean assertiveness. It was on this promise of a new and more assertive role for Japan that he won a third term. 

In the Philippines – America’s historical ally - President Duterte’s attitude towards America was shaped by his personal experience as mayor of Davao and exacerbated by US criticism of his anti-drug war campaign after he became president. Partly as a result, he has chosen to take the path of appeasing China, including softening the country’s stance against the latter’s aggressive push to enforce its control of the South China Sea, in exchange for promised economic benefits.    

With no historical antecedents to live up to and a pliant legislature to hold them back from their natural inclinations, it would seem that we are in for some very interesting times. And so we welcome the New Year with our fingers crossed for a peaceful and stable Asia-Pacific region.

Too many Romulos: Who is who???

Since the time of former president Corazon Aquino, three members of the Romulo family have been known in the legal, business and government sectors: Ricardo J. Romulo, Roberto R. Romulo and Alberto G.  Romulo. This columnist (Roberto aka Bobby) was once a senior executive of IBM in the Philippines and Thailand and appointed by former president Corazon Aquino as ambassador to Belgium, European Community and Luxembourg.

In 1992, then president Fidel Ramos appointed me secretary of foreign affairs. In 1995, I rejoined the private sector and remain very much in business today.

Alberto G. Romulo (aka Bert), my first cousin (son of my father’s younger brother, Gilberto, was a lawyer and CPA who has held positions in government as senator, budget secretary, finance secretary, executive secretary and secretary of foreign affairs. At the same time, during the Arroyo administration, I was appointed pro-bono senior adviser on international competitiveness. The names Roberto and Alberto created confusion and we often got each other’s mail. Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo often referred to us as Secretary Romulo. Protocol dutifully called both of us every time she summoned Secretary Romulo. As a result, both of us would appear in her office. I then decided and instructed Palace staff to refer to me as ambassador and the incumbent DFA secretary by his appropriate title. Despite this clarification, the government bureaucracy was confused and official documents/invitations were inevitably sent to the wrong individual. Even the press would mistakenly label me as Bert and vice-versa.

Finally, there is my brother Ricardo J. Romulo (aka Dick). We are the sons of General Carlos P. Romulo, another former ambassador and foreign minister.  Dick is six years my senior and will turn 85 this month. He was a graduate of Georgetown College and Harvard Law School. He started practicing law in 1960 and has been a senior partner of the Romulo, Mabanta, Buenaventura, Sayoc and de Los Angeles Law firm for 40 years and counting. President Aquino appointed Dick a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution. He was also a member of the fact finding commission on the attempted coup d’état of 1989.  From 1987 to 2006, he was the chairman of the Makati Business Club.

There is often an identity mix-up between Dick and I. Newly-arrived ambassadors often think we are twins and when they meet us socially they are not quite sure what to discuss other than the weather. Quite often, in cocktail parties and diplomatic receptions, clients of my brother would come to me and discuss their legal problems. To avoid embarrassment, I just nod my head in agreement until somebody else interrupts our awkward discussion.  I presume Dick is also the victim of this confusion.