‘Bridge’ over troubled water

“They wore uniforms that were the colors of the crown/royalty of Kuwait; that is considered offensive in Kuwaiti culture.” “They posted on Facebook a police action that was clearly a violation of Kuwait’s sovereignty.” “You don’t send your son, daughter or wife to apologize for an insult that only you can apologize for.” “It is the job of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to communicate to the President the importance of our global diplomatic relations.” “Sooner or later, the President has to pick up the phone and talk to the Kuwaitis.”

The dust may have settled but our problems with Kuwait are far from over and based on a recent interview with an experienced diplomat, there are a number of solutions and strategies available to the Philippines but the best and fastest way to fix the problem is for President Rodrigo Duterte to pick up his mobile phone and call his counterpart in Kuwait to make a “diplomatic apology.” If that is too much for the President considering he did not order or sanction the “rescue” fiasco, then the other option is for the President to “call a friend” who could intercede or play “bridge” over our troubled water.

Problem is: Who do you call if most of the candidates have been the recipient of Duterte castigations in the past or happen to be the very countries he has played against each other? I recently interviewed Ambassador Apolinario “Jun” Lozada as part of the “practice sessions” of our upcoming TV show “AGENDA” on Cignal TV and as usual, one learns when one listens.

Ambassador Lozada immediately laid down the rule that any diplomatic personnel or team sent abroad must be well versed in the culture and tradition of the country they are assigned to or operating in. Most Facebook addicted Filipinos thought that the Kuwaitis may have been overreacting to the rescue video, but Ambassador Lozada clarified that the participants wore gear or uniforms that were the “royal colors” of the crown in Kuwait and doing so was an affront or insult to the crown. Whatever their intentions were, the agreements under the Geneva Convention also prohibit and prevent foreign nationals or governments to undertake such police or rescue action without the approval and knowledge of any host country. If some western super power does it in the movies that does not mean you can do it in real life.

In search of answers and solutions, I asked Ambassador Lozada about who can Malacañang call on for help or to be the peacemaker? Lozada’s reply was both tragic and amusing as he pointed out that America, Canada, Australia and the likes could probably help a lot but someone by the Pasig River has stepped on people’s toes and offended their sensitivities in the past. Many politicians in the US don’t take kindly to PRRD’s tirades, Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau does not like Duterte, the government is currently deporting an Australian Missionary while China and Russia are “non-influencers” in the Middle East except perhaps in Syria, so that’s a no-go. Fortunately, I got to squeeze some more names from the good ambassador and he came up with four local personalities who each have good relations or connections in the Middle East and Kuwait.

The best bet according to Ambassador Lozada would be former Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay who apparently had sown a lot of goodwill in Kuwait during his term as Vice President and as the point man for OFW concerns during the Aquino administration. Binay has continued to maintain his relationships with the crown and is treated with respect in Kuwait. The second candidate is former Ambassador Rafael Seguis who is both an expert and a veteran in Middle East affairs. If VP Binay was the pointman for OFW concerns, Ambassador Seguis was the perennial rescuer of Pinoy OFWs who worked with Arab authorities instead of infuriating them.

The third name given by Lozada was former President Fidel Ramos who brings his stature as former president as well as record of good relations in the Middle East. Lozada was however quick to point out that FVR might find such a mission too physically demanding at his present age. The last name I got was that of businessman and diplomat Amable Aguiluz who has invested a lot of time and money developing his connections and business relations in the Middle East.

If we want to secure the safety of 262,000 OFWs in Kuwait the ideal solution would be to send all four to Kuwait if possible. But, there is a hitch. Just like with the United States, Canada and Australia, the four possible peacemakers are not on any Malacañang guest list in the current administration. Ambassador Lozada did point out that President Duterte is a fast learner so let’s all pray that being the tactical lawyer that he is, PRRD will see that the lives and livelihood of 262,000 Filipinos in Kuwait are far greater a price than having to “Call a Friend” even if you called them names in the past.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up.” (James 4: 10)

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A friend in government sent this via SMS in reaction to my sick and tired column:

“Fatigue and frustrations are setting in, maybe not only for me but for other career officials as well. Our own bureaucracy as well as the system and organization tend to feed into the environment built on too many laws, regulations and procedures – many are no longer applicable (Jurassic), confusing, duplicating, not attuned to the times. These are about “what are legal basis” and lesser on “what are the right and better basis” – A senior career official.

Last I remember, Congress was suppose to be doing an audit of all those laws that are useless, unfunded or contribute to red tape. Legislators need to reverse engineer their idea from making laws to reducing laws!

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