The Man in a Hurry

Bobby Romulo, RRR or Triple R, as he was fondly called, born of an illustrious name, could have taken it easy and comfortably in the seat held by his father, Carlos P. Romulo, for a long time. But not this man in a hurry, who gave the name its shining hour.

Long after he left the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1995 for the unfairest of reasons, his name and person live on in the institution and will live on even as he is gone.

RRR loved the men and women of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

And they loved him back.

And they are today immensely saddened by the passing of this man, who they had gotten to know in his IBM years in Bangkok and Manila, in his years as Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and as Secretary of Foreign Affairs and in all the years which came after – because RRR never really left the Department of Foreign Affairs and never seemed to want to leave it.

To the end of his days, RRR continued to be engaged in foreign affairs, the focus of his thoughts and many writings, and with the men and women of the Department of Foreign Affairs, never losing touch and often gathering them together at the Manila Polo Club and Terraz, his watering holes.

All these served to make us know RRR better and to like what we saw. There were no frills about RRR. What you got was what you saw. He would not mince words and tell it to you like it is.

All of us who are part of this tribute had, in one way or another, experienced RRR’s Department of Foreign Affairs journey, from Bangkok to Brussels to Manila to Washington D.C. to New York to ASEAN capitals to Manila Polo Club and Terraz and have seen what was important to RRR in all these – love of country and the essence of being good. After all is said and done, these are what matter most in life and in the after. And to our mind, these were what defined RRR and earned him our esteem.

RRR’s years at the helm of the Department of Foreign Affairs gave vigor to its position as the premier department of the Philippine Government. The man was in a hurry from day one, in perpetual motion and with boundless energy. Everything to RRR, it seemed, was a race against time. And so, during his tenure, the Department of Foreign Affairs never came to a standstill.

RRR respected the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Career Corps. He never brought in outsiders, and instead, surrounded himself with professionals he trusted to help him carry out his mission. He especially sought out the help and advice of the late Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Rodolfo C. Severino. In the last two years, already ailing, he went to great lengths to establish a Chair at the Ateneo de Manila University in Undersecretary Severino’s name. And we are grateful.

Those who have experienced working with RRR very well know that you had to keep up with him – and then you would grow. Learning was a two-way street for RRR – you learnt from him and he learnt from you. He picked your brains and you picked his. There was no arrogance or a claim to monopoly of competence. He was a great boss and mentor to many. They say they learnt a lot. And they are grateful.

RRR first made his mark at the Department of Foreign Affairs when he was Philippine Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and Head of Mission to the European Community. He had then realized that migrant Filipino workers would come to be facing problems in a United Europe implementing common laws, rules and regulations throughout the Union. He thought it was essential to come up with stronger cooperative and coordinated action among all Philippine Embassies in Europe to protect and help Filipinos working all over Europe. From his post in Belgium, he was able to get the posts in Europe to come together to cooperate and form the Council of Philippine Embassies in Europe (COPEE). The first meeting of COPEE, held in Paris, came up with a compilation of all the cases of Filipino migrant workers in the different parts of Europe, submitted to the Department with recommendations on what should be done. COPEE was able to pool the strength and resources of our Embassies in Europe to handle all aspects of our relations with the European Union.

At one time, the EU blocked the entry of Philippine carrageenan into the Union for some reason. One of us recalls that her Office's staff had carrageenan on their plate for days on end since RRR, then Head of Mission to the European Community,  breathed down their necks daily to make sure they acted on his orders promptly.

RRR did his best to make a contribution to an institution he knew was vital to the life of our nation. He wanted to make a difference and to leave the Department better than when he found it. It was at the Department of Foreign Affairs, after all, where he could best express his love of country. His was a patriotism authentic and genuine, and showed in all that he did and what he wished for the country.

Solid achievements tell the tale of RRR’s years at the Department of Foreign Affairs. He computerized the Department of Foreign Affairs. Bent on securing the integrity of the Philippine passport, he introduced the machine-readable passport, the prototype of today’s e-passport. He wanted economic diplomacy to be the second pillar of Philippine foreign policy and worked at setting this into place. The Officers and Ambassadors, he thought, needed to be transformed into “salesmen” for the country. The Economic Diplomacy Unit under the Office of the Secretary, which has evolved into today’s Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, was set up during his time.

RRR represented the country well in Asia-Europe Meetings (ASEM) and ASEAN meetings. At the top of his foreign policy agenda was the South China Sea issue, the country’s territorial integrity being uppermost in his mind. In later years, he had the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation publish the work done by Undersecretary Severino on the South China Sea, immensely useful to those seeking to understand the issue from A-Z.

From 1992 onwards, public diplomacy came to be at its best. RRR saw that there was a need for the Department of Foreign Affairs to effectively communicate its message and gave the Office of the Spokesperson the importance it was due. How right he was. At the height of many controversies, whenever he was being pummeled by media, from left, right, up front, center, he had his Spokesperson, who enjoyed his full trust, take over.

RRR knew how to make things work and worked hard to make them work. He did not leave his Spokesperson to her own devices. He made sure that, for her to effectively speak for him, she knew him and knew his mind.

When he was convinced that a project, after turning it inside out and outside in, even cutting it to pieces, would work and that it was a go, he would give it all his support and the resources it would need. He was doggedly persistent and impatient to get things done.

RRR struck terror and would breathe down your neck when he issued orders, expecting immediate compliance, and would reissue the orders in many forms until he exacted compliance. Orders were orders and were sacred to RRR. But no time of day was sacred. RRR was never one to take No for an answer. You just never say No to the boss nor talk back to the boss. He would call you at any time of the day, issue orders and iron out any difficulty you would have in following them. When he gave you orders, no ifs or buts, you would just have to comply.

RRR dared introduce the IBM culture to the Department of Foreign Affairs. His old man, the General, who wrote every single one of his beautiful pieces in his own handwriting, would have been the first to resist. RRR made Complete Staff Work (CSW) the order of the day. He demanded CSW. It was either you come up with complete superior quality work or it would not pass muster. RRR introduced teleconferencing between the President and Heads of Posts. It became a regular feature in the lives of Heads of Posts. To RRR, the architect of Philippine foreign policy had to have a feel of his men in the field.

A different kind of a friend and a different kind of a boss RRR was. We could not have him for all the time we would have wanted him as a friend and as a boss. RRR resigned from his post in 1995, at the height of the Flor Contemplacion case, saying with great dignity and grace, “The buck stops here.” Vintage RRR.

The RRR era in the Department of Foreign Affairs, cut short, was one of many firsts, was one of much substance and was one which was significantly meaningful. Fast and furious, the RRR era provided for interesting times.

What more can you say about a Secretary of Foreign Affairs who would do what other Secretaries of Foreign Affairs are not seen to do – appear with childlike spontaneity at the office of a subordinate area desk Officer, for no rhyme or reason, except perhaps to silently convey, that he cared and you matter ?

Kind, gentle, caring and very compassionate – these, to us, RRR was. We cannot leave out mention of RRR’s fine sense of humour. The man could laugh at himself when he misunderstood things.

He protected his people and was never one to put anyone down. What he himself went through, he would not wish on anyone – the true measure of the man.

No personal agenda, did this man in a hurry have, except love of country. How we wish he could have waited just long enough to see a new day dawn on the Philippines.

We offer our sincerest condolences to Olivia and the family and thank them for sharing RRR with us. We offer prayers for the eternal repose of his soul.

Susan O. Castrence

Cynthia G. Gale

Phoebe A. Gomez

Lourdes G. Morales

Cristina G. Ortega

Luz R. Palacios

Rora N. Tolentino