Order, diplomacy and Philippine coffee

The face of philippine diplomacy is a woman who can speak her mind in seven languages. That directness is probably the German in her. Or is it the Filipino in her?

"My husband always tells me I preach like a schoolteacher," says Delia Domingo-Albert, our ambassador to Germany and one of the country’s most accomplished diplomats.

Among her singular achievements: chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council during the Philippines’ presidency of this body in June 2004 and Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the first woman to hold this high rank in the Philippines and in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region.

She talks about German directness and Filipino casualness in a lively tour d’horizon that focused on effective diplomacy, organic Philippine coffee as a trade tool and the changes wrought in her character by exposure to things foreign.

Her husband, by the way, is a German who loves the Philippines. They have a home in Wiesbaden where their daughter was born. She was second-in-command of the Philippine embassy (then in Bonn) for eight years.

Consequently, Ambassador Albert has a powerful interest in German culture, dotes on Maultaschen (pasta squares filled with meat and spinach) and Rote Gruetze (a pudding made from different fresh red berries, eaten with vanilla sauce) and, not unsurprisingly, is now quite German in her dedication to efficiency.

That virtue is a resounding advantage when it comes to running an embassy in a country where relentless efficiency is the norm.

"Ordnung muss sein! (There must be order)," she says in flawless German. "I run a very well organized embassy. I expect the staff to know what they are doing... I expect them to speak German and expect them to work hard. I am known to be very demanding, but if you look at my curriculum vitae, I have run through all the departments. That is very rare in an ambassador. I know exactly what I can expect from everyone because I have done the job myself, so I think I am reasonable (with my demands). I like efficiency. My work ethic has produced good results.

"Puenktlichkeit (punctuality) is another of my standards. My husband has taught me that it is very inconsiderate of another person to be late and I always try to be on time."

Severe as these remarks may sound to the average Pinoy–laid back as he is–these embody qualities demanded of any professional diplomat.

Her new posting to Germany will give her ample opportunities to practice the ambassador’s art in a country no longer a stranger to her.

"I feel it is important to have a focus in order to be an effective ambassador. That is the way I like to work. It is a waste of possibilities if you use your position to simply represent," she points out. "During my appointment as second in command in the 1980s, it was relatively easy to connect Germany to Asia due to the fact that Eastern Europe was still closed. I remember Foreign Minister Hans Dieter Genscher being very pro-Asia. It will be a challenge now to enhance that connection to Asia again. The competition (for investments) is fiercer as Eastern Europe has been able to cater to many of Germany’s needs since its opening up to the West. My focus will be on bringing the Philippines back into the picture in terms of investment opportunity and as a reliable trading partner."

Her efforts towards this end is not confined to her work in the embassy in Berlin. Diplomacy, after all, is a two-way exchange.

"I’ve also suggested to German Ambassador (to the Philippines) Axel Weishaupt to gather Philippine and German individuals and look at what has transpired during our 50 years of diplomatic, business and cultural relations to help identify the strong points within this relationship and to use these findings to formulate objectives for the next 50 years–a ‘roadmap’ based on the experiences of the past," she explains.

"The Philippines and Germany have a very good relationship and I am grateful for that. Yet this needs to be translated into economic cooperation," she continues. She points out that Philippine companies should concentrate on finding niches that can translate into mutually beneficial economic activities. She is particularly keen on seeing partnerships in environmentally acceptable or "green" processes made possible by German technology.

She admits the "lively" political situation in the Philippines poses a challenge to marketing the country in Germany. She points out, however, that all countries go through periods of change.

"I remind tham that we, as a country, have already been through a lot and are still standing. The fundamental laws of democracy do exist here and are not altered.

With the embassy as the frontline in the push to sell the Philippines, Ambassador Albert aims to showcase the best of the country in all aspects. For one thing, she will introduce organically grown Philippine coffee to Germany.

"We will be serving only Philippine coffee in the embassy to make it a tradition with our guests," she notes. "I plan to have an open house one day a week where anybody can come in to the embassy. I have always done that. I want to serve Philippine coffee, maybe with moscovado and bibingka."

She recounts her experience heading our embassy in Australia. "I remember in Canberra we used to open the embassy to groups of Australian school kids and we would serve them macaroons. And I would tell them, ‘You must always eat macaroons because they are made from coconuts that we sell to your country’."

She intends to have other items on her plate. "Another thing is Philippine chocolate–tablea. My mother used to make that and I just love it! In the same way that I was able to penetrate the Australian market with Philippine mangoes, I would like to promote organically grown Philippine coffee in Germany."

Ambassador Albert comes to her new job toting one of the most formidable resumes in the Philippine diplomatic service. She speaks Filipino, English, German, French, Romanian, Spanish and Japanese. She has represented the Philippines in nine countries.

In 1992, she was awarded the Knights Commanders Cross of the Order of Merit with Star by the Federal Republic of Germany for promoting Philippine relations with Germany, as well as relations between ASEAN and the European Union. In January 2004, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo conferred on her the Order of Sikatuna, rank of Datu, for her exceptional service to the Philippines.

The Philippine Women’s University in 2003 conferred on her the degree of Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, in recognition of her contribution towards building a gender-fair society as the first woman Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines and in the ASEAN.

She returns to a Germany far different from the Cold War front line state she knew in the 1980s. She looks forward to seeing the former East Germany, especially Leipzig, Dresden and Magdeburg.

"I now have the chance to witness the impact of the unification, which I literally watched from the front row. I saw the beginnings, I witnessed the unbelievable downfall of the Berlin Wall and I know of the hopes that were attached to those events at the time. I am curious to see what has become of it.

"Berlin is an important player in Europe. It will be a challenging job and I am very much looking forward to rediscover this country that I have only known as a divided country," she notes.

A career diplomat, Ambassador Albert has discovered that it does help kindle your professionalism if you love your job. "I’ve always wanted to become a diplomat. I’ve always loved history and I like to travel. It was the perfect match for me," she explains.