Cayetano draws line as DFA head

Even before he became the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano had always been an advocate of change.

Born to a political family, he was exposed to public service at the age of 13. In college at the University of the Philippines, he was an active student council officer. Years later, he became the youngest councilor of Taguig at age 22. These achievements quickly earned him the moniker “Batang Compañero” from his lawyer-politician father, the original Compañero.

The Cayetano family has been a regular member of Congress since 1998. His sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano, was first elected in 2004 and their father Renato Cayetano was a senator from 1998 to 2003. Alan Peter’s wife, Laarni Cayetano, is the incumbent mayor of Taguig City since 2010. His younger brother, Lino Cayetano, was a representative of the 2nd District of Taguig from 2013 until 2016.

Now, at the helm of DFA, Cayetano said it will always be the Filipinos’ interest that comes first.

Cayetano was quoted in a report as saying he wanted to prioritize the welfare, protection and comfort of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) just as President Rodrigo Duterte promised. Likewise, he said the government will continue to protest China’s construction in disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea. “Our improved relationship with China does not mean we will waver to defend our interest in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

Among other goals, Cayetano knew he had to work hard to deepen the country’s relations with old and new partner nations, maximizing realistic opportunities to benefit the Filipino people.

In the past years, the DFA has had eight bilateral agreements on areas such as criminality, extradition, energy, communication, education, intellectual property, audits and accounts. Cayetano has pushed forward with these developments. And on his recent visit to the country, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged $17.8 million to help fund health and empowerment projects for Filipino women. The government, likewise, was able to push for Hong Kong to open an economic and trade office in the Philippines.

“We are optimistic about the future of Philippine-Hong Kong relations and we look forward to taking giant steps in various areas of cooperation. We talked about opportunities to further strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade and investments, labor, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, especially with the signing of the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement,” he was quoted as saying in a previous report.

Last Tuesday, Cayetano said the DFA is also moving towards increasing its capacity for producing more passports. The department’s goal is to meet 30,030 passports daily from the system’s current capacity of 19,030.

Cayetano said from 2014 to 2015, passports issuance went up by .054 percent. Between 2015 and 2016, the increase was 1.89 percent and from 2016 to 2017, the increase was at 19.38 percent.

A month after the agency opened two new consular offices last March, Cayetano announced, “We would have six vans with five machines each. And between now and then, the other six offices would start. So I’m expecting that by June, 60, 70, 80 percent of the problem will be solved and the waiting won’t take that long.”

Amid calls by a few critics that he should resign, Cayetano vows to continue his job as the DFA chief. He says he respects dissenting views but he still holds the belief that the administration still trusts and supports him.

To quote his message during the 120th Philippine Independence: “We shall push on and fight for our national interests and uplift the image of the Philippines in order to bring real change and economic and political benefits home—by being friends to all and enemies to none. We shall ‘Build, Bridge, Build’ to protect the country’s interests and to achieve peace and prosperity, including the long-term security and stability in our region.”

“As we all join hands and help the President accomplish his mission for real, positive change in the country, guided by the three pillars of foreign policy — national security, economic diplomacy and assistance to nationals — we shall stand tall as Filipinos and be living witnesses as the Philippines continue to work and be victorious in advancing the country’s interests in the world stage and ensuring the well-being of Filipinos wherever they are,” he said.

Batang Compañero’s fire clearly continues to burn and he is not letting negativity stop him.

Only the President can make me resign, he said.