The ‘heroic’ DFA chief

Despite having his hands full with the China issue (including the replacement for Ambassador Sonia Brady) and problems faced by overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario honored us with his presence during the annual Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) Christmas party. He even do The ¡®heroic¡¯ DFA chief

nated a raffle prize, which was very kind of him.

Del Rosario is probably one of the most hands-on officials in the Aquino Cabinet – a trait that became apparent very early in his tenure when he flew to the conflict-affected zones in Libya and Yemen to check on the condition of the thousands of OFWs who were trapped and displaced. In fact, during his trip to Misurata in Libya, the general who was leading his security detail told Del Rosario they could not go any further because the conflict was starting to escalate.

From a distance, they heard the drone of approaching jets and perhaps fearing that they could be hit, the Libyan escorts started running away and jumped for cover – while Del Rosario was left bravely standing. An Associated Press reporter who heard about the incident wrote about it, praising the top Philippine diplomat for the “heroic Mideast rescue” of hundreds of stranded Filipinos.

Secretary Del Rosario laughingly recalled the event, telling us that far from being heroic, it was actually his bad knees that kept him from running and diving for cover like what his military escorts did. “I had to move slowly because of bad knees,” he said, disclosing his double knee surgery several years ago, which is why he has to move slowly.

Bad knee or not, there is no denying however that Albert is perhaps one of the most hard working Cabinet officials we have today, preferring to see the condition of OFWs himself rather than just relying on reports. He is also credited with putting more career diplomats on the job and less political appointees. He himself is credited for being highly professional.

Beating a ‘dead horse’ issue

The Supreme Court ruling upholding the Commission on Election (Comelec)’s purchase of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines should have laid the issue to rest, with the Palace saying the decision “ensures the legal certainty” of the 2013 automated polls. However, it would seem that some persistent groups either want the May 2013 automated polls to be postponed or prefer the country to go back to the cheating-prone manual elections since they keep on beating a dead issue.

The Comelec certainly has a lot on its plate especially since it has yet to complete the list of party list groups that will be allowed to run in next year’s polls. So far, the poll body has only been able to come out with an incomplete list of 79, having disqualified 173 groups earlier, a number of whom are seeking relief from the Supreme Court. As it is, there’s less than a month to finalize the list of those whose names will be included in ballots that will be printed starting Jan. 20 next year.

Comelec chief Sixto Brillantes admits the party list issue is eating up a lot of the preparations, not to mention the time spent replying to unending complaints regarding the use of the PCOS machines and Smartmatic-TIM. Anti-Smartmatic groups are capitalizing on the US lawsuit filed by the Venezuelan firm against supplier Dominion Voting Systems and the legitimacy of the source code. Smartmatic’s Cesar Flores has assured the public the source code is authentic – and that it was safely placed in escrow at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in the presence of Comelec officials and the press in 2010 – with the event fully documented before the cameras. May is practically just around the corner, and it’s quite clear that Filipinos no longer want to go back to the old mano-mano election process. Let’s not waste any more time debating what should already be a dead issue.

NAIA’s ‘cafeteria lounge’

Our classmate Gilbert Jose emailed us about the unpleasant experience of a balikbayan and his family who recently used the Sampaguita Lounge at the  NAIA Terminal 1. Apparently, the balikbayan and his family arrived at the airport much earlier than their flight because there was surprisingly light traffic along EDSA. The family decided to pass the time at the lounge, paying the requisite $20 fee each for the use of the facilities.

Imagine however their disappointment at seeing the miserable condition of the lounge. According to Gilbert, the balikbayans were dismayed at the food which was no better than cafeteria fare – “not fitting for a paid lounge.” The door, the walls and the general physical condition of the facilities were reportedly in a very sorry state of disrepair. Worse, the toilets were reportedly dirty, and one cubicle did not even have a door.

We complain and holler in protest every time foreign travel websites or magazines include the NAIA in the list of the worst airports, like the report last month by travel website “Sleeping in Airports” that named NAIA Terminal 1 as one of the worst airports in Asia, pointing to the collapsing ceilings, the overcrowding, the bribery, scamming taxi drivers who rig meters and overcharge unsuspecting passengers and all other things that leave a bad impression to tourists. Yet even Filipinos are complaining about the stink, the traffic, the long lines and other uncomfortable conditions they encounter in NAIA.  Instead of lashing back at critics, officials should double the time to rehabilitate and renovate the dilapidated and ageing facilities. We understand the budget for the rehabilitation of the airport has been increased to P1.6 billion – so when will actual work be done? There have been too many delays already, with the 2013 deadline now moved to 2014. It’s time to get moving.

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