In two successive days, Thursday and Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs was engaged in managing the effects of the abrupt, temporary closure of three foreign missions here in Manila, namely, the Australian, Canadian and European Commission embassies. On Friday evening, I invited the entire diplomatic corps, consisting of 60 foreign missions, to the DFA Summit Lounge for a comprehensive briefing on the security and protection of the diplomatic community.

I brought with me the whole phalanx of government agencies responsible for the security of the foreign missions. The Philippine National Police Chief, General Hermogenes Ebdane, had to fly back from an urgent visit to Marawi City, to be able to attend the conference. Four other members of the Cabinet, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez, DILG Secretary Jose Lina and Presidential Peace Adviser Eduardo Ermita, also attended.

I informed the diplomatic community that the Philippine government was quite upset by the decision to shut down the embassies on the basis of intelligence reports that had not been shared with the Philippine security authorities. This, in combination with negative travel advisories, had tended to put the country in disrepute before the international community as an investor and tourist destination. I said this is unfair to a country and a government that have taken a leading role in the global fight against international terrorism in Southeast Asia. At the same time, I emphasized the need to put more substance into regional agreements requiring the partners to cooperate fully with each other in the common fight against terrorism in all its forms.

I assured all the foreign diplomats that the Philippines is capable of "thwarting, repelling and crushing any terrorist attempts against the foreign missions in the country."

General Edgardo Aglipay, Ebdane's second in command, laid out clearly the upgraded security plan for the protection of the diplomatic corps, including specific personnel assigned to each embassy and consulate. Switzerland and Bangladesh protested that their embassies were not covered by the presentation, but this was merely due to the limitations of the projector screen, not a deliberate omission. I asked General Aglipay to confer with them immediately. Indeed the security plan covered all the embassies and consulates and the personal security of each ambassador or consul general.

The series of diplomatic briefings and conferences quickly mounted by the Department of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the securityrelated agencies has apparently cleared the air. Some ambassadors may have smarted over the strength with which some officials had argued the Philippine case, but the overall feeling was one of relief that the security problems were being intelligently and purposefully addressed.

Indeed, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, called me up and assured that the Australian embassy in Makati would reopen in a few days and that in any case urgent consular services were being maintained from the residence of the ambassador and from a hotel room in Makati City. I know Downer as a staunch friend of the Philippines and of ASEAN. He is also one of the most respected foreign ministers in the region and the world. He and I are in fact considering signing a bilateral memorandum of understanding for stronger cooperation in the fight against terrorism. A bilateral ministerial meeting scheduled for Nov. 20-22 in Sydney had been reset for January because of scheduling conflicts.

I have urged my government colleagues not to exacerbate the situation any further as the need of the hour is for sobriety and reason to prevail. Panic reactions on both sides can merely play into the hands of the terrorists whoever they may be. Our ties with our security partners should emerge stronger after this minor crisis, and the world will acknowledge our capability to fulfill our international obligations to protect the foreign diplomatic community, just as we expect the same foreign governments to protect our own Filipino diplomats in all the foreign posts where they are assigned, together with our extensive overseas communities numbering over seven million Filipino expatriates.

Indeed I would not be surprised at all if the quick action taken by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the clear expression of solidarity between our government and the diplomatic corps may have already averted and thwarted any terrorist attempts on the foreign embassies that may be the targets of Al-Qaeda-allied terrorist networks in the Southeast Asia region. If we get past the Ramadan period in the first week of December, everything will be peaceful and back to normal