Honorary consuls not honored

The honorary consul general of Jamaica to the Philippines Mike Guerrero complained to me the other day about the shabby treatment that honorary consuls get in this country. Though they are not considered as “full-time” diplomats, in most parts of the world, honorary consuls are afforded the same respect and treatment befitting a representative of a country. More often than not, honorary consuls take on an array of duties and responsibilities which include consular as well as commercial services on behalf of the government they represent.

In the Philippines, the Foreign Service Act of 1991 allows the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs to appoint honorary consuls in areas where there are no Philippine embassies or consulates – and these honorary consuls are “qualified private persons” that perform a number of functions (on a non-career basis) for the government but are not given fixed salaries or allowances. While there are certain benefits that honorary consuls may get from their position, more often than not, these people end up giving more than whatever benefits or perks they receive since most of the time, they are chosen because of their perceived influence and capability in putting forward the best interest of the Philippines, mostly for business and commercial purposes.

Depending on the country, honorary consuls can amend regular passports, issue travel documents, temporary visitors’ visas and transit visas, authenticate the validity of official acts of local authorities, conduct notarial services and even certify ships’ papers in some instances. Some Philippine honorary consuls, in cases where they are allowed by the laws of the host government, can also administer oaths and take witness depositions in cases that are pending before Philippine courts, and of course, they are also expected to extend assistance to “distressed Filipino citizens.”

But more often than not, the appointment of honorary consuls is often a cost-saving measure taken by countries, even first-world ones like Canada, since they signify diplomatic presence without additional costs and bring with them a modicum of political and diplomatic connections to the job. In some instances, these honorary consuls, like Mike Guerrero, even promote the interests of the Philippines in Jamaica.

But it appears that despite the work and assistance that honorary consuls do to enhance and improve relations between the Philippines and the countries they represent, they are not afforded the same courtesies given to their “regular” counterparts, as if they are considered as “second class” diplomats, Mike Guerrero laments. On many occasions, the DFA fails or neglects to send them invitations, unlike the rest of the other embassies who always get invites for every and any occasion. I was also told that some honorary consuls are even deprived of minimal benefits they get such as the issuance of diplomatic plates for their vehicles. Ironically, you see a number of vehicles sporting these diplomatic plates but upon closer scrutiny, turn out to be bogus.

Mike was suggesting that perhaps the DFA should consider what the other countries are doing for their honorary consuls to minimize the proliferation of diplomatic bogus plates. Instead of the usual “1000” car plate reserved for chiefs of missions, perhaps  honorary consuls should be issued the “2000” plate to give them that separate distinction.

But like in most cases, there are always a few bad eggs that give honorary consuls a bad name. There are reports that some are abusive and actually use their position to smuggle in goods or even luxury cars, and lend their diplomatic plates to cars that are not supposed to be used by other people. These are of course just stories, but some of them could be true, that’s why the LTO, I understand, is now going after these people who have no authority to use diplomatic plates.

What’s worse is that these people are obviously after the position for reasons other than being “honorary.” A number of times, these people just get the title and the honorary privileges because they have the right connections. For instance, a number of these honorary consuls are not even familiar with the countries they are supposed to represent. The Consular Corps, together with the DFA, should really start cleaning up their ranks and weed out those who are not deserving of the “honorary” title. After all, if you want to be honored, you should also be “honorable.”

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Speaking of honorable people, the Asean Law Association (ALA), an organization of legal practitioners in Southeast Asia, just had the induction of its executive council in the Philippines. Among the honorable roster of members is Atty. Avelino Cruz of ACCRA who was elected as president of ALA Philippines. Ave Cruz – who topped the bar at age 20 – has a Master of Laws degree from the University of Michigan and was a Ford Fellow at the University of California in Berkley. No less than Chief justice Reynato Puno serves as the Chairman of the ALA Philippine National Committee.

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