Foreign service officers protest midnight appointments

ellentordesillas.com

While everybody was busy with preparation for the 2010 elections, Maguindanao massacre, and Martial Law, two opportunists were able to wangle midnight appointments from Gloria Arroyo which will further undermine the country s foreign service.

Last week, the 300-strong Union of Foreign Service Officers wrote Arroyo, through their president Vicky Bataclan, protesting the appointment of two Rep. Antonio Cuenco as ambassador to Italy and Ambassador Francisco Benedicto as ambassador to China.

Unifors said they have two fundamental concerns about the appointments of Cuenco and Benedicto, both Cebuanos:

 First, if ever the appointment of these persons is confirmed by the Commission on Appointments, the appointee will only be able to serve as ambassador for less than six months. Such duration in our view does not justify the additional expense for their deployment and transfer.

 Second, we share anew our considered view that the appointment of a person beyond the age of 65 violates both the clear letter and spirit of Sec. 23 of the Foreign Service Act.

Last October, when Unifors blocked the appointment of Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs Esteban Conejos as permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, they pointed out the insensitivity of spending some US$70,000 for an appointee who will stay less than e

Foreign service officers protest midnight appointments

ight months in a post considering the financial severity that the country is going through after the recent typhoons that devastated large parts of the country and ruined thousands of lives.

Arroyo listened and they were thankful to her for recognizing the wisdom of their argument.

But the cases of Cuenco and Benedicto are much worse because if their appointments are confirmed by the CA on Wednesday, the earliest that they could assume their posts would be in February. There would only be five months left in the Arroyo administration.

It is assumed that the two would move heaven and earth to get a new appointment from the next administration (Cuenco has already said he is supporting Liberal party presidential bet Benigno Aquino, Jr.).

This is brazenness in several aspect. Brazen on the part of Arroyo to make midnight appointments instead of allowing her successor to have a free hand in the choice of his ambassadors. Brazen on the part of Cuenco and Benedicto in pushing for their appointment in the last six months of an outgoing administration.

The Unifors cited the age limitation that the Cuenco and Benedicto appointments would be violating. Sec. 23 of the Foreign Service Act (RA 7157) states that  All officers and employees of the Department who have reached the age of sixty-five (65) shall be compulsorily and automatically retired from the Service: Provided, however, That all incumbent non-career chiefs of mission who are seventy (70) years old and above shall continue to hold office until June 30, 1992 unless sooner removed by the appointing authority. 

Also, section 86 of the Implementing rules and regulations of RA7157 is very clear that  No foreign service officer, staff officer or employee who is over 62 years of age shall be considered for foreign assignment.

Cuenco is 73 and Benedicto is 69 years old.

Benedicto was a businessman before he was tapped into the diplomatic service. He is nice person. Not so brilliant as a diplomat but he has had able support from career officers in his previous postings (Singapore, South Korea, Brazil, Canada). He is currently ambassador to India, a post which he has held for less than a year. What then is the rationale in transferring him to Beijing now?

China is one of the toughest assignments in foreign service. Currently, the ambassador there is the very competent Sonia Brady who has actually reached retirement age.

The business side of the relationship with China is ably handled by economic officers representatives from the Department of Trade and Investments. What s important is a chief of mission that has deep policy background because he would be managing volatile issues like the Kalayaan/Spratlys Islands, Asian regional security, Korean Peninsula denuclearization and many more.

The Unifors asked Arroyo to reconsider the appointments of Cuenco and Benedicto and  prioritize the appointment of career officials in the interest of maintaining professionalization of the foreign service and ensuring continuity of service. For the country s sake.