AT THE FRONTLINES OF PHILIPPINE DIPLOMACY 

WELCOME REMARKS OF THE  HON. ALBERTO G. ROMULO
SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 AT THE 108^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
21 JULY 2006

The Honorable Vice President Noli de Castro,
The Honorable Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita,
The Honorable Justice Raul Gonzalez, 
The Honorable Finance Secretary Gary Teves,  
Distinguished guests, 
Colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs,
Retired Ambassadors who are here with us today,
Outstanding employees of the DFA, 
Loyalty awardees, 
My fellow colleagues,
Friends: 

Our warmest welcome for every one of you to this our commemoration of the one hundred and eighth anniversary of the establishment of the Department of Foreign Affairs. 

Our Department has always stood for service to the Filipino people. 

Our Department has faithfully served the Philippine State—and the Filipino nation—even as it matured and developed, consistent with the country's evolving role in the world. 

Today we celebrate—and renew—our collective commitment to advancing our country's national interests in the community of nations. 

Advancing the Imperatives of Our Foreign Policy 

Under the leadership and guidance of Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, we have been advancing Philippine foreign policy on three key fronts: national security, economic security, and the protection and promotion of the welfare of eight million Filipino migrants and overseas contract workers in more than 120 states and in every continent. 

We advance the three imperatives with the same passion as those patriots who preceded us in this office—from Apolinario Mabini to Carlos P. Romulo to Ka Blas Ople. 

We Have Improved Our Frontline Services 

As we end another year in the service of our country, we can—I believe—look back proudly to what we have been able to do. 

Our 'frontline' services we have improved significantly—by applying solutions to long-standing operational problems. 

Among other things, we have cut down drastically the processing time for our passport and authentication services. 

Right now, we are working to improve the quality and accessibility of Philippine passports—to make them equal to—if not better than—those of other modern states. We expect very soon to roll-out our machine-readable passports. 

We have also expanded our Assistance-to-Nationals services in our effort to serve and protect our "Overseas Filipinos," wherever they may be. 

At this moment, we have Undersecretary Rafael Seguis in Syria meeting our workers from Lebanon, Ambassador Roy Cimatu, our Middle East Preparedness Team head, is in Beirut together with our charge in Lebanon Walter Salmingo working and coordinating with DOLE, OWWA and other government counterparts to help and assist our countrymen in the beleaguered Country. 

Beyond Legal Aid and Assistance in Repatriation 

The Philippines is a global nation. We pursue the rights, welfare, protection and interests of overseas Filipinos in all parts of the world. 

Not only have we secured the freedom of many of our countrymen detained in their host-countries for one reason or another. 

We have also helped to save Filipinos convicted abroad from the death sentences to which they had been condemned. 

And we carry on diligently our work of ensuring that the human rights of Filipino overseas are always protected and upheld. We pray that the courts of countries where we have our countrymen would always spare their lives. We speak from the bottom of our hearts as we have abolished the death penalty and spared the lives of those in detention. 

Time and again, our diplomats abroad have proved themselves ready to respond to the needs of their countrymen—even beyond the call of duty. 

In Iraq, our posts have negotiated the release of our nationals taken hostage by extremist forces. 

In Somalia—most recently—our diplomats were instrumental in the release of 20 Filipino seamen captured by anti-government militants. 

During the recent political crisis in Dili, East Timor, we watched vigilantly over our nationals working there. Our personnel—and our resources—we dedicated to readying their repatriation once their safety was threatened. 

The same kind of commitment and dedication we expect of our people in Lebanon—and in other Middle-East Posts—who are even now working around the clock—in constant touch with our Home Office—to ensure the safety of Filipinos in the areas of current conflict. 

Philippine Diplomacy in the World Community 

In the global community, our Department manages the Philippine State's participation in key international groupings. 

• Notably, in 2004-05, we were a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
• More recently, our country was elected a member of the new Human Rights Council.
• Right now, the Philippines is also Vice President of the General Assembly.

Through all of these international forums, our Department is advancing our country's global interests in sustainable and equitable development; the spread of peace that endures; and the recognition by every state of inalienable human rights. 

We Host the ASEAN Summit This December 

Our 108^th year coincides with a significant engagement for our country— its one-year turn as Chairman of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; and its hosting of the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit later this year in Cebu. 

Reaffirming Our Commitment to Serving Our People 

Before I conclude, please let me take this opportunity to thank the President for her guidance and steadfast support of this Department, and for her sincere concern for all its people. 

We continue to benefit from the direction President Arroyo provides as the architect of Philippine foreign policy. 

And I must express the DFA leadership's appreciation to our employees associations—the DFA Personnel Association, the DFA Rank-and-File Association, the DFA Union of Foreign Service Officers, the DFA Ladies' Foundation, and the DFA Multi-purpose Cooperative—for their active participation in all the Department's endeavors. 

These fraternal societies make the DFA truly one national team - contending in friendly competition with other diplomatic establishments to promote their national interests in the world community. 

Lastly, let me take this occasion to reaffirm our commitment to strive with all our might - to work with our allies and friends in the international community - to achieve our shared vision of peace, community, and progress for all the peoples and nations of the world.

Thank you and good day! END

/jay

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