Duterte urged to send ambassador to US
February 3, 2017 | 6:00pm
President Rodrigo Duterte arrives at the National Convention Center in the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits and other related summits last Sept. 6, 2016 in Vientiane, Laos. AP Photo/Bullit Marquez
MANILA, Philippines — Former Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lauro Baja on Friday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to send a Philippine ambassador to Washington DC as soon as possible.
"A regular accredited ambassador can open doors much more evenly and much more reliably than not having one," Baja said in a televised phone interview on Friday over ANC.
He added that not sending an ambassador to an important post—the US is a former colonizer and a longtime ally and trading partner—is not good diplomatic practice.
Baja made the statement after President Duterte said that he is not inclined to appoint a Philippine envoy to the United States.
“In the US, we have no ambassador. No ambassador will go there. Until now, we do not have an ambassador in the United States. I don’t feel like sending one,” the president said during a convention of the Philippine Association of Water Districts in Davao City on Thursday.
Duterte also criticized at the US during his speech, saying it should not scold the Philippines over its war on drugs. The US has not but the Obama administration did raise concerns over possible human rights violations.
Baja said that he does not think the decision not to send an ambassador and that that may have been one of the president's off-the-cuff remarks.
"Maybe we should expect a clarification or explanation in the coming days," he said.
The president has, in the past, railed at the US and has threatened to throw out American troops, end military exercises and abrogate military treaties. The statements have yet to be translated into actual policy.
Baja said that while the chargé d'affaires to Washington DC, Patrick Chuasoto, will be enough for representation, he would not be as effective as a regular accredited ambassador would be. He will only have access to lower-tier US government officials, for example.
He also said that there is no reason for the president not to send an ambassador "unless the president wants to send another message to the United States."
Baja said that while the president has "a good supply of prospects", it is important that whoever he sends must have an extensive network in Washington circle as well as in the various interest groups there.
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