Remarks
of
TEODORO L. LOCSIN, JR.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
On the Presentation of the 2020 DFA Budget Proposal
[House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, 04 September 2019]
Honorable Isidro T. Ungab, (Pronounced “U-ngab”)
Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations,
Honorable Manuel Sagarbarria, whom we are very honored and very fortunate to have as the sponsor of our budget,
Honorable members of the Committee,
Distinguished Colleagues:
On behalf of the 3,840 men and women of the Department of Foreign Affairs, of which 1,436 are currently serving in our 88 foreign service posts, I thank the honorable members of this committee for your support of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Our agency remains resolute in promoting an independent foreign policy and the Duterte government’s commitment to deliver the best frontline services of any other country—bar none, given the scale of our commitments—to all overseas Filipino workers; wherever in the world they are. And we make sure we know where they all are all of the time.
And to keep us on our toes in their service, we vigorously implement the law that gave them a voice in the election of our bosses. I was a principal sponsor of the Overseas Absentee Voting Act and now I have the privilege to see the women and men of the DFA work night and day for months, and with often erratic help from Comelec, to make the vote real for our countrymen abroad.
2018 was a watershed year for the DFA. We toughened our independent foreign policy from being “Friend to all, enemy to none” to “Friend to friends, enemy to enemies and a worse enemy to false friends.” It’s a tough world out there; and everyone’s out to get the better of us if we let them; and to use us for their purposes if we don’t keep our wits about us.
Our foreign posts are our eyes and ears in the world outside; even as the DFA is our first line of national defense. I have also described foreign policy in my watch as “the hand, or if you will, the fist in the iron glove of the Armed Forces.”
We’re not out there spending tax money to make friends abroad where there are no permanent friends, just permanent self-interests. No, sir, we’re out there to defend ourselves against those who want to hurt our country here, and our people out there.
I have said that I depend exclusively on our Armed Forces intelligence to alert us to threats domestic and foreign. Who else can we trust in our national defense but those put their lives, and not just their tongues, on the line for it?
Through diplomacy we pursue expanded and deepened relationships with historical allies, while pursuing new diplomatic engagements in the global arena. The world is in constant flux; yesterday’s friends may be today’s enemies or at least today’s users. Through our diplomatic efforts, the DFA continues to fulfill its role in the community of nations in maintaining the long era of peace that our country has enjoyed. Although the greater credit for our peace and safety goes to geography. As an archipelago we enjoy the stopping power of water to keep enemies at bay—so far as that goes today with modern military technology that can bridge the longest distances in increasingly shorter time.
The Department’s Milestones 2018-2019, are:
1. President Duterte improved relations with China. Bilateral visits and cooperative mechanisms helped create a more congenial environment for managing issues in the West Philippine Sea. At the same time, the Duterte Administration pursued the Philippines’ advocacy in the West Philippine Sea by upholding—before those who contest it—the Arbitral Award defining our rights in the South China/West Philippine Sea; and by pushing for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a document that sets forth the collective commitment of ASEAN and China to promote peace, stability and mutual trust and to ensure the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea. That of course has not stopped provocations in its waters. But no transgression goes unanswered; no hint of usurpation goes unchallenged.
Under the Philippine Country Coordinatorship of the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations for 2018-2021, ASEAN and China adopted the ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, which charts the future direction of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations. As China coordinator, we successfully negotiated the first draft of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea that will be acceptable to all concerned. Our view, however, is that the West is not interested in the COC.
2. The DFA continues to take steps to fortify relations with traditional allies.
In September 2018, President Duterte undertook official visits to Israel and Jordan, during which agreements were signed on labor cooperation, investment, and defense cooperation.
The momentum of high-level exchanges between the Philippines and China continued with President Duterte hosting President Xi Jinping to the Philippines on 20-21 November 2018, whereby a total of 29 documents and agreements were signed, preeminently those on oil and gas and the Belt and Road.
Meanwhile, he had the most cordial and warm meeting with the U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo, with whom he talked turkey. It was a momentous occasion when the US returned the three Balangiga Bells to the Philippines on 11 December 2018. Thanks in great part to Nikki Haley, the US PR in the UN when I was there. And of course, thanks to the friends of the Philippines in the United States.
3. At the APEC Summit, the President put our nation’s most aggressive public infrastructure investment program “Build Build Build” front and center, leaving the world in no doubt about the Philippines’ confidence in its own future.
4. Our agency continued to fulfill its mandate to promote our cultural and creative efforts to secure a foothold abroad through the use of soft power. The DFA, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas signed The Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding on the Governance and Operations of Sentro Rizal, to enhance collaboration in culture and the arts for overseas Filipinos; so they can speak of the imperishable achievements of our race.
5. In pursuit of the third pillar of Philippine foreign policy, the DFA has taken active steps to protect and advance the rights and promote the welfare and interests of Filipinos overseas.
The DFA constantly monitored various flashpoints in the Middle East to ensure that the Philippine government adequately responds to changing political and security situations to ensure the safety and well-being of OFWs.
Libya is our foremost concern. I have instructed our people in Tripoli that they will never leave their post until the last Filipino is safely out of there.
From 01 January to 31 December 2018, a total of PHP 999,495,697.40 was utilized from the PhP1 billion Assistance-to-Nationals Fund of 2018 to help 101,918 overseas Filipinos in distress. This represents 99.95% utilization of the Fund. Additionally, Php190,079,747.48 was utilized from the PhP 200 million Legal Assistance Fund of 2018 for a total of 3,735 Filipinos in trouble with the law. That is a 95% utilization of the Fund.
For this year, we have used 48% or PhP483 million of the PhP1 billion ATN Fund to help 100,522 Overseas Filipinos; and we have utilized 41% or PhP81 million out of the PhP200 Million Legal Assistance Fund to help 3,728 Overseas Filipinos in trouble with the law.
For the period January to December 2018, in coordination with relevant government agencies under the One-Country Team approach, the DFA assisted a total of 5,886 trafficking victims who were exploited through illegal recruitment, forced labor, sex trafficking, and other exploitative and abusive arrangements—mostly with the connivance of fellow Filipinos.
We engaged in the negotiation, conclusion, and ratification of bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements on labor, migration governance and frameworks for the promotion of Philippine nationals' interests abroad.
The Philippines wrote, campaigned for, and voted in favor of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) on 10 December 2018 in Marrakech. The GCM was also overwhelmingly adopted by 152 States, including states in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and all Arab receiving States in the Middle East. The GCM is envisioned as the first comprehensive instrument that will define and shape a multi-year global migration framework through actionable state commitments.
6. In line with the President’s directive for government offices to streamline processes and to provide better government service for the people, the DFA implemented several measures to improve consular services such as the opening of five (5) Consular Offices in 2018, two (2) more in 2019, and four (4) more are in the pipeline this year. The Department also continued to expand the country’s global service reach, and opened a new embassy in Copenhagen and two consulates general in Frankfurt and Houston. Our next posts will be tough ones; mostly in Africa and other conflict areas.
Since its launch in January 2018, a total of 284 Passport-on-Wheels services were rendered, which served 130 cities and municipalities and resulted in 216,058 ePassports issued in 2018. We continued former SFA Cayetano’s fast track passport issuance approach, which is so fast we outstripped our budget and ended up with a PhP600 million shortfall. The only solution is for us to go slow again, or get your help with our budget. The Passport ePayment Portal, which allows applicants to pay the processing fee through banks and other payment platforms, was introduced in June 2018.
In May this year, DFA began implementing the Apostille Convention. This abolishes the need for legalizing foreign public documents among Contracting Parties, and is verifiable online. Lastly, as members of the Committee may note, the DFA also implemented the 10-year validity for Philippine passports since 01 January 2018. And most importantly we abolished the requirement to present the birth certificate for passport renewal. We suddenly realized that the old passport was enough proof that once upon a time the applicant was born. You don’t have to keep presenting your birth certificate and enriching the xerox operator outside the national statistics office.
7. Mindful of the government’s need to standardize service delivery, the DFA Authentication Division—ISO-certified in 2016—the DFA Passport Division core process, and DFA NCR-West Authentication and Passport processes—both ISO-certified in 2017—were re-certified with the latest ISO 9001 Standard in December 2018.
In addition, the scope of DFA’s Quality Management System was expanded to include the Diplomatic and Official Passport Section, Visa Section, and Assistance-to-Nationals service for walk-in clients at the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs.
8. To support overseas absentee voting, the DFA continued to expand the reach of its omni-media information campaign. In May 2018, in addition to existing media partners, Radyo Inquirer, DZMM, ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) and The Filipino Channel (TFC) joined the registration campaign and started promoting overseas voter registration in their respective media platforms worldwide and nationwide. As a result, there was an increase of 32.41% in the number of active registered overseas voters, coming to a total of 1,822,115. That’s a sizable vote.
In connection with this, COMELEC approved the adoption of the Automated Election System by 41 posts. That covered a total of about 1.65 million overseas voters. We have given the vote to those who give their lives for their families back home. Thank you very much for this opportunity.
END