Serious gaffe

An irate China has dared to wag its finger on our foreign policy chief architect. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs condescendingly advised President Marcos Jr. to brush up on the One-China Policy issue following his Jan. 16 congratulatory tweet to the newly elected leader of Taiwan. He was the only head of state that felicitated president-elect Lai Ching-te, the Chinese embassy pointed out. A few days later, the Ministry admonished the Philippine government to stop the wrong words and deeds on the Taiwan question.

International embarrassment

More than a social media blunder – not the President’s own doing, in my view – the message on X is a foreign relations gaffe, given the increased Sino-Philippine estrangement over the disputed West Philippine Sea (WPS). Did the online post contravene the One-China Principle? Yes. Was the belligerent reaction expected? Yes. Did the President deserve to be insulted? No. Was it a deliberate attempt on PBBM’s part to antagonize China? I do not believe so.

It is easy to see why the Asian superpower has gone ballistic over the post. It has long considered the “renegade province” as an inalienable part of its territory. In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2756 (XXVI), which restored the lawful representation of the People’s Republic of China (PROC) in the UN and expelled Taiwan from the intergovernmental body and its attached agencies. 

In 1974, a young PBBM accompanied then-First Lady Imelda Marcos to meet with the late PROC founder and leader Mao Zedong. A year later, president Marcos Sr. officially established diplomatic relations with PROC, thus ending the Philippines’ formal ties with the East Asian Island. Since then, we have maintained an economic and cultural office in Taipei while Taiwan has a representative office in Makati City. What has been constant, though, is the country’s adherence to the One-China Policy.

In defusing the situation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the social media post is the President’s expression of gratitude to the Taiwanese government for hosting around 200,000 overseas Filipino workers. Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro, meanwhile, slammed the foreign ministry spokesperson for spouting state-sanctioned disinformation and gutter-level talk. If I were in the shoes of my friend and fellow UniTeam member Secretary Teodoro, I would have refused to dignify the statements of the Chinese spokesperson. I would have deferred to the DFA in responding in behalf of the Marcos administration. After all, the matter is within the scope of DFA’s competence and authority. 

Nonetheless, no amount of downplaying or whitewashing can erase the fact that the controversy has embarrassed the President. Of course, it has further stoked animosity between the Philippines and China.

However, China’s inflammatory remarks on the President were also uncalled for. The Oxford-educated Chief Executive and former senator knows that the One-China principle is a cornerstone of Philippines-China relations. I cannot imagine a person of PBBM’s stature, experience and knowledge would commit such a grave error. No monarch, premier or president of a nation-state that does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country would willingly congratulate its president-elect. The President is very much aware of this.

Tolerating incompetence

The controversy could have been avoided by a rigorous oversight system within the Philippine Communications Office (PCO). I suspect an overeager social media staff coupled with negligent superiors were the culprits behind this unforgivable blunder. If it really came from the President himself, Malacañang would have immediately released an official statement or video message.

I can only think of two possibilities. The staff, who tweeted, cannot grasp the gravity and complexity of the One-China Policy in the context of the prevailing geopolitical tension in the WPS. Or perhaps due to excitement, the staff conveniently forgot to exercise caution and circumspection vis-a-vis foreign affairs issues. Before posting the content on the President’s socmed account, the staff should have asked for approval from superiors like the PCO undersecretary in charge of the social media operations or from Secretary Cheloy Garafil herself. It would have been more ideal had the PCO coordinated and sought clearance first from the DFA. My unsolicited advice to Secretary Cheloy, please choose the most qualified professionals as staff members. Let go of the inept and inefficient. 

During my stint as a presidential spokesman, I requested 24/7 access to then-president Rodrigo Duterte. As a proud mouthpiece of the Duterte administration, I was always worried that the media and the general public would misquote or misunderstand me. Therefore, I established a standard operating procedure in my office. All press releases, statements or social media cards were based on my public pronouncements in briefings and interviews. Almost every engagement of mine had a corresponding video footage and transcription. I had two staff that handled the ‘socmed’ needs of the office. They produced four media cards daily, sourced from written or video documentation. Another two worked as transcribers.

When it pertained to a highly sensitive issue such as the Philippines-China tiff, I always consulted the late Philippine Ambassador to China, Chito Sto. Romana. (It did not matter that I had publicly disagreed with his boss, then DFA Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin Jr., on foreign policy matters on several occasions. I was following the directive/instruction of Mayor Digong.) I sought the ambassador’s clearance every time I spoke on the issue. There were instances when he directly provided the content to my press briefings. Our working synergy, with the approval of FPRRD, somehow made the Sino-Philippine relations less tumultuous than it is today. 

What is the use of our diplomats in Beijing if we do not ask for their input in the first place?