Cayetano, Manalo alternately answer foreign policy questions

MANILA, Philippines — Acting Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo and Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday alternately answered Philippine foreign policy questions on wide-ranging issues such as the relationship with China and the South China Sea, a job that is supposed to be performed by the country’s top diplomat.

Cayetano repeatedly answered several foreign policy queries during a press conference of some members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s entourage in Bangkok, Thailand despite the presence of Manalo, who was appointed in an acting capacity after the designation of Perfecto Yasay was rejected by the Commission on Appointments for lying about questions on his US citizenship.

Rumors have been rife since last year that the president plans to appoint his losing running mate as DFA chief after the one-year ban on appointing losing candidates to government posts lapses in the middle of this year. Duterte, however, said in a past interview that Cayetano, a very close ally, might be needed more in the Senate, a development which could bolster Manalo’s chances.

Some of the country’s diplomatic experts, including former DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario, have also suggested that Manalo be appointed permanently, a fact not lost on the senator as he described his role as “mere oversight” as chairman of the Senate’s committee on foreign affairs.

“I am aware of the love and respect of the whole DFA for Secretary Manalo,” he said.

When asked if he would be the country’s next  secretary of foreign affairs, Cayetano sidestepped and just said that Manalo and he were committed to following the leadership of the president.

“Sec. Manalo and I have the same answer: We are both committed to the country and we both follow the leadership of President Duterte, so we will both follow whatever his decision is,” he said.

Give Duterte strategy a chance

In one exchange in which a reporter asked Manalo on the reported plan of the Philippines to file a protest against a Chinese plan to install a radar station in Panatag Shoal, the senator interjected and answered the question.

“Please understand and give a little bit of latitude to the DFA and other departments. Although we have to report to the people, what country will be able to achieve its objectives if we announce our strategy while we’re implementing our strategy,” he told the reporter.

Cayetano also defended the president and said that many of his statements had been misunderstood. He assured the public that the president would not yield a single centimeter of territory to any country.

“Many of his statements have been misunderstood. When he gives statements on what we can and cannot do it doesn’t mean that he’s giving up any of the territory and that he will not exert all efforts for the Philippine claim.”

He called on the country to place their “absolute trust” on the president who he said had been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work on the issue.

He described the issue as a very complex one and said that despite the dispute the other aspects of the country’s relationship with China should not suffer.

When another reporter asked which is more important between Philippine territory and its economic relationship, Cayetano again took the microphone and answered.

“Precisely yun ang mindset ng tao natin: territory or pera. Each and every country acts in accordance with the values of its people and the interest of its people. Both are important and both are interrelated,” said Cayetano who explained that what the Philippines was trying to do was tone down its approach and prevent other parties from being more aggressive.

He also clarified that only the country’s strategy changed and not its goal of protecting and preserving the integrity of its territory.

In another question directed at Manalo about the meeting to be hosted by Beijing in May where Southeast Asian countries and China will talk about the code of conduct in South China Sea, Cayetano gave again his insights after allowing the DFA acting secretary to address the inquiry.

Cayetano said that the emphasis on the country’s relationship with China under Duterte was the development of trust.

“There might be things right now that you think are contradictions, but give the strategy a chance. In a few years, makikita niyo ang resulta nito,” he confidently declared.