Ruffled feathers

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, according to Isaac Newton’s third law of motion.

What happened recently at the Department of Tourism is a good illustration of how this law of nature works.

Two recent actions by Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo may have ruffled a few feathers, and some quarters are wondering whether recent reports questioning Teo’s credibility had something to do with said actions.

First, of course, is the closure of Boracay Island to tourism for six months which expectedly angered business owners and operators in the island.

Second is Teo’s decision to investigate certain questionable deals entered into by her predecessor, Secretary Ramon Jimenez.

There is, of course, this controversial ad production deal with an international ad agency that former DOT secretary Jimenez contracted, but never finished.

Then there is this issue raised by COA on the non-liquidation of around P240 million in funds given by Jimenez to the organizers of the annual Madrid Fusion Manila food event for the 2014 and 2015 staging. The organizers, as well as other service providers for the culinary event, were reportedly chosen without the benefit of a bidding process.

Teo’s decision to make sure that this year’s Madrid Fusion event is bid out properly will, of course, not sit well with those who will be eased out in the process.

Is it just possible that some very unhappy people are now trying to find fault in the hardworking DOT chief?

The Commission on Audit is reportedly questioning payments made by government station PTV 4 to Bitag Media Unlimited for DOT ads placed in “Kilos Pronto,” a TV program hosted by Teo’s brothers Erwin and Ben Tulfo despite the lack of supporting documents.

Some quarters are trying to make it appear that it was DOT which placed the ad with the program produced by a company owned by Teo’s brothers and co-hosted by one of her brothers Erwin.

But DOT has stressed that it made the ad placement with PTV 4, and not with the private company. Meanwhile, PTV 4 management has explained that it has complied and submitted all the documents requested by COA to justify the disbursement of the DOT advertising funds.

President Duterte has earlier directed government agencies to support PTV-4 for its role in the national government’s communications program.

Meanwhile, Teo defended DOT Undersecretary Gabriel “Pompee” La Viña from accusations that he leaked the said COA report. Ben Tulfo has reportedly claimed that the COA report was leaked to administration critics by an undersecretary that was previously with the Social Security System. Tulfo did not mention La Viña’s name, but the latter used to be SSS commissioner until he was removed by Duterte.

Undiplomatic move

Just when Kuwait-bound Filipino workers thought that the travel ban imposed by the Philippine government following the discovery of Joanna Demafelis’ lifeless body inside a freezer at the home of her Kuwait-based foreign employer would soon be lifted as the two governments work out an agreement, some members of our Kuwait diplomatic mission have committed an unforgivable blunder.

Everything is not black and white, especially when it comes to international relations. There are rules that need to be followed, and these we did not follow. They may have the best of intentions, but these do not matter. We broke diplomatic rules.

Four Filipinos hired by the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait were arrested recently for helping Filipina domestic helpers flee the homes of their employers while Kuwait issued arrest warrants for three Filipino diplomatic employees, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The mandate and protocol is that if there is any need to rescue OFWs in distress, the police station nearest to the address of the employer should first be informed. Unfortunately, the member of the DFA augmentation team did not follow instructions. They went ahead and rescued the Filipina workers, took a video of the rescue, and then posted the video on social media.

The video of the rescue on Facebook caught the attention of Kuwaiti government officials and citizens. Of course they got mad. More than the violation of diplomatic protocol, the video embarrassed Kuwait.

Aside from the arrests that ensued, our Ambassador Renato Villa was declared persona non grata and was ordered to leave Kuwait. The latter’s government has also recalled its envoy in Manila.

The rescue allegedly happened while ACTS OFW partly-list Rep. John Bertiz III and Presidential Communications assistant secretary Mocha Uson were conducting a meeting during their unofficial  trip to Kuwait with Ambassador Villa,  DFA’s  Raul Dado,  DFA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola,  and DFA assistant secretary Elmer Cato, among others.

The STAR reported last Friday that Arriola sent a special Rapid Response Team (RRT) to rescue Filipino workers from abusive Kuwaiti households, in violation of diplomatic norms and an infringement on Kuwait’s sovereignty. Arriola is DFA undersecretary for the Office of Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA).

The report said Arriola even brought to Kuwait DFA assistant secretary Elmer Cato, who authorized the uploading of rescue videos.

Kuwait, meanwhile, has issued a warrant of arrest and travel ban on DFA OUMWA executive director Raul Dado who was pinpointed by three drivers hired for the rescue mission as the one who supervised the seven teams from the embassy and the DFA that carried out the rescue operations.

What were Bertiz and Uson doing in Kuwait? Did they have a role in the controversial uploading of the video?

This government should stop sending and appointing people who know nothing about diplomacy. Have they even read the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations? The bottomline is foreign affairs should be handled by career diplomats and not politicians and amateurs.

What happens if politicians or people with hidden agenda are appointed to sensitive positions?

According to sources, there are some forces behind this particular diplomatic fiasco that are pressuring the government to give them some of the projects that are earmarked for the welfare of the OFWs particularly the ID project for OFWs.

Another politician who had just been appointed to the labor department had reportedly intended his appointment to jumpstart his political comeback in the Visayas. The politician, upon his appointment, is said to have ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to conduct CSR projects in the Visayas where he comes from. But this was thwarted when the President appointed another undersecretary to be in charge of POEA. 

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