Amateur hour at DFA

We have a big problem. We have confirmation from events last week that our secretary of foreign affairs has no idea what diplomacy is about… As my friend Greg Macabenta puts it, na (Alan) Peter Principle si Cayetano. In business circles, this means he has reached his level of incompetence. 

Secretary Cayetano may not have been a bad congressman or senator, but being asked to run the DFA exposed his ultimate capabilities… he has reached his level of incompetence. The crisis with Kuwait wouldn’t have happened if we had a seasoned diplomat, or someone who had more exposure to foreign affairs.

The other problem that made Sec. Cayetano’s problem worse is that he is focused on how to be president after Duterte. Being foreign affairs secretary is just a stepping stone. That Kuwaiti affair was not primarily a “rescue” operation, but a publicity stunt to promote Cayetano’s political future.

From the bits and pieces gathered over the past few days, there was apparently a plan to make a big dramatic splash on social media by “rescuing” Filipina domestics in Kuwait. Even Mocha Uson, the Duterte social media queen, didn’t just happen to be in Kuwait when the “rescue” extravaganza happened.

President Duterte is supposed to make his Kuwaiti decision by Sunday (yesterday by the time this column is published), but here is what happened as I could determine as of my deadline.

PhilStar sources said DFA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola sent a special Rapid Response Team (RRT) to rescue Filipino workers from abusive Kuwaiti households. Its operation, unless coordinated with Kuwaiti police, is in violation of diplomatic norms and is an infringement on Kuwait’s sovereignty. Arriola is DFA undersecretary for the Office of Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA).

I am in favor of rescuing abused OFWs. But it is wrong to assume that we can do police operations in another country. If any foreign embassy did that here, we would also feel insulted.

Having done what we did, DFA Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato posted two videos of the “rescue” operations in the official Viber group for reporters covering DFA. Of course, that really infuriated the Kuwaitis because we violated their sovereignty and told the world about it.

They declared our ambassador persona non grata and recalled their ambassador from Manila. That means we are that close to having our diplomatic ties with Kuwait cut. If that happens, how can we protect the remaining 260,000 Pinoys still working in Kuwait?

Lest some people may say I am biased against this administration, let me use the Facebook posts of my friend, Jose Alejandrino. Joe is an adviser to President Duterte and a most loyal defender. Joe conceptualized the RevGov strategy because he was anxious to see Duterte have all the powers to be a successful president.

 Joe is also a supporter of Cayetano, or maybe he was. Joe is a son of one of our most distinguished diplomats who represented us in various world capitals decades ago.  

Joe grew up abroad as he followed his father’s assignments, worked in UNESCO in Paris and Nairobi.  Joe is hands down more familiar with diplomatic practice than Mr Cayetano. It pains him to see his Duterte associates falter this badly in diplomacy.

 Here is how Joe saw the Kuwaiti problem:

 “When you run a covert operation you don’t advertise it. Why did Alan Cayetano’s SocMed team advertise it all over social media? The only reason I can think of is, Cayetano’s team wanted to show their boss was just as macho as Duterte. I imagine it was a public image buildup towards an eventual presidential bid.

 “By posting the video, the Cayetano team provided the evidence against themselves to the Kuwaiti authorities that Philippine embassy officials had broken their laws. It made the Kuwaitis look impotent. It added insult to injury.

 “Hence the outrage at the Kuwaiti parliament! Hence the diplomatic protest by the Kuwaiti government. No government could ignore such an affront to its sovereignty. Kuwait is not a Philippine colony.

 “Frankly, it was the biggest stupidity anyone could concoct. How can the SocMed team expect their operations not to backfire? How can the DFA secretary feign innocence?

 “If Cayetano says he knew nothing about them, he would be admitting he doesn’t know what is going on inside his department or at his embassies abroad. In other words… an admission of incompetence… a copout of his duties and responsibilities.

 “If he says he knew about them, he would be admitting he approved or sanctioned the breaking of laws of a sovereign country. Either way, his goose is cooked.

 “A netizen commented the President has apologized to the Kuwaiti ambassador for the incidents, like he did to Hong Kong citizens for the bus massacre under Noynoy Aquino’s watch. If so, it was the correct thing to do to mend the broken image of our country in Kuwait.  

“The apology I view as a tacit admission by the President that what Cayetano’s SocMed team did was wrong. One only apologizes for a wrong done.

 “There is still a way out of the crisis. But if we mishandle it, the consequences can be enormous and will become a crisis of major proportion. There is a lot at stake, much more than we can imagine.

 “It is now the Emir who is calling the shots, just as our president here is calling the shots. And the Emir wants good relations with us, but not at the expense of the honor and dignity of his country. He wants reparation.

 “By releasing the video, Cayetano’s SocMed insulted and humiliated the Kuwaitis. Now the Kuwaitis demand reparation. Those responsible must be fired. Only by this act can the damage be repaired. DFA Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano must assume command responsibility for the acts of his department.”

 The Amateur Hour at the DFA must end!

 Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco.