Ambassador Alistair MacDonald: the cool diplomat

MANILA, Philippines – Minus the restrictions of protocol, Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, head of the delegation of the European Commission (EC) to the Philippines, is one cool diplomat. He goes to Starbucks to buy his coffee, relishes kinilaw and teaches Highland dancing.

In the Philippines for the second time in his diplomatic career, MacDonald confesses he loves the country and does not worry about travel warnings issued by different countries, including European Union (EU) members.

“I haven’t had sleepless nights in the Philippines. There are parts of Manila I don’t want to go to in the dark. But to be honest, diplomats need not feel under any particular threat as long as you are prudent. And I don’t think diplomats are under excessive risks when visiting the more troubled areas in the Philippines because the government takes care of them very well,” MacDonald says.

The ambassador is a favorite of media for his no-nonsense interviews and quotable quotes.

For one thing, he let us in on what diplomats talk about among themselves.

“I think if you’ll listen, sometimes you’ll be disappointed. But of course, we talk about politics, we talk about economics, and we talk about gossip, which is great fun. But a lot of what we talk about is politics,” he admits.

May is celebrated as EU Month, and the EU reaffirmed its commitment to remain a strong and reliable partner of the Philippines despite the current global recession.

MacDonald says that the past year has seen a continued deepening of EU-Philippines relations.

The EU is hopeful that, like the Philippines and other ASEAN members which ratified the AEAN Charter, the EU will complete the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon to achieve better functioning of the institution which bring together 27 Member States and bring the EU closer to its citizens.

“This year, I can say the same, we are still moving on to complete the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, and indeed we can look with some envy at ASEAN for its achievement in ratifying its Charter,” MacDonald said in his speech during the celebration of the EU Day earlier this month.

“Nevertheless, we have continued to work to set the path for an evolving European Union in the decades to come – a Union which will always be a strong and reliable partner internationally – globally, regionally, and here in the Philippines – whether in good times or in the context of today’s global recession,” he said.

The political and policy dialogue between the EU and the Philippines has grown stronger, both bilaterally and in the context of ASEAN and Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM).

The EC co-hosted with the Philippines last month in Manila the first ASEM dialogue on development cooperation policy.

He adds that the EU and the Philippines continue to work to strengthen trade and investment relations.

“And in 2008 the EU resumed its place as the largest single export market of the Philippines, as well as being, I believe, the largest source of inward investment here,” he said.

Bilateral relations, he says, are also reaching a new level of intensity, with the opening of negotiations on an EU-Philippine Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) last February.

“And I am confident that we can move forward rapidly in deepening, widening and strengthening our relations through the PCA,” he added.

The one-million Filipinos working in Europe, in sectors as diverse as healthcare and accounting, continue to be a bridge between the Philippines and Europe which helps support both our economies.

In terms of cooperation, EU’s total funding for the Philippines since the partnership began in 1976 has already passed the €1-billion mark, and continues to focus on the fight against poverty in Mindanao.

The EU also provided substantial help to address the plight of civilians affected by the conflict in Mindanao and hopes that the conflict might soon be brought to an end, in order to allow that potentially very prosperous region to achieve its full potential. 

In 2007, MacDonald and his family came back in Manila for his second posting. He served as Deputy of the EC when it opened the commission delegation in 1990, and stayed until late 1995. His wife, Brigitte, studied at the University of the Philippines and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Geology while their two children went to the International School.

“She’s an alumna of UP. When we were here the first time, she studied. We waited long enough for her to complete (her course), which she did in three years and then she was able to transfer the credits over to the open university in England. And she started a career. She’s a geologist – thanks to UP,” he adds.

This time around, his two children are not with them, since they now have careers of their own.

He notes a lot of changes between his two postings, one of which is that the buildings are “taller than when we left in 1995.”

“But if I go to places like Maguindanao or South Cotabato, some of the places I often visited when I was here the first time, in rural areas I got the impression of very little change.”

This, he says, encouraged the EU to allocate about 25 percent of their assistance for Mindanao.

Although he misses their home in Scotland, MacDonald enjoys most the weather in this country. 

“I like the tropics, I like the warmth. I grew up in Northern Europe and one great ambition that I had was to live in a house with a central heater, because the house where I lived as a child didn’t have a central heater. We had a fire in the living room with a little radiator in the bedroom and I still remember we were having ice inside the windows,” he relates. “We’re very privileged to live in a setting like this.”

He does not cook but he cannot resist Filipino dishes like his favorites kinilaw (ceviche), grilled fish with soy sauce, vinegar and calamansi, and tuna panga (jaw).

The famous Filipino hospitality, the smile, the attitude and making guests feel welcome are qualities that truly endear Filipinos to him and his family.

“Their smile, their attitude, a little sense of hospitality – you feel like such a welcome guest. And again, the language, you can actually exchange ideas and thoughts. At all levels, the Philippines is such a welcoming society,” he enthuses.

But he would also like to see some changes in Philippine society that is a very status-conscious society.

“Although the Philippines is very democratic, it’s also a very status-conscious society. People seem to bow to their social superiors. They seem to bow rather than question. They seem to accept rather than complain. And sometimes I wonder. Many Filipinos are very humble. They don’t want to make a fuss. They don’t want to question even if there are reasons.”

He hasn’t picked up many Filipino words because Filipinos can easily communicate in English, but he always uses “Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat” in every speech.

With a very busy schedule, the calm and soft-spoken envoy often just goes by Starbucks “to pick up a sandwich, a coffee, maybe a cookie and a Butter Scotch Fudge Bar and that’s my lunch.”

MacDonald has given up smoking but finds himself stuck with another habit.

“I stopped smoking nearly six years ago. But to help me stop smoking I took this nicotine gum and now I’m addicted to nicotine gum,” he rues.

He may not have the luxury of time but the ambassador catches up on his reading as often as he can, and describing himself as a “reader all my life.” He favors history, politics and fiction and his favorite authors are Ian Rankin and Ian Banks. He is also interested in photography.

Little known about MacDonald is that he takes pride in and teaches Scottish Highland dancing, one of the oldest forms of folk dance.

During the Christmas Party at the EC Office in Makati last December, he taught the staff and his colleagues Highland dancing.

“Each year in November, you know it’s Bonifacio Day. We know it as St. Andrew’s Day – the patron saint of Scotland. So each year, there’s the St. Andrew’s Ball, which was founded in Manila in 1869, it’s more than a hundred years old. And we have a ball around the end of November,” he says. “The last couple of years, I’ve been inviting some my colleagues from the diplomatic corps to join the ball, but that means that they have to become a little bit familiar with Scottish dancing so they can enjoy themselves. Some of them dance extremely well, others find it a little bit unusual.”