Leading a transformation
IN 2016, a few days after officially stepping down due to health reasons, the former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alberto F. del Rosario graced a testimonial luncheon organized in behalf of him by the nonprofit Makati Business Club (MBC), along with the American Chamber of Commerce, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Chamber of Mines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines, and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In a speech, which was published by MBC, Mr. del Rosario said, “It has been three days since I retired from foreign service, and it has been a matter of great privilege and profound satisfaction to have served our country and the Filipino people under the leadership of His Excellency [former] President Benigno S. Aquino III, who also is the chief architect of our foreign policy.”
“My role was only to implement polic,” he said.
Over the course of his tenure, the Department of Foreign Affairs achieved great progress in transforming itself into, in the words of Mr. del Rosario, “an organization that is smarter, leaner and more proactive.”
A number of steps were taken to make this possible. And they included restoring morale by further strengthening the career service corps, with Mr. del Rosario noting that the department, at least by the time he left, had the “fewest political appointees as ambassadors in the history of DFA; upgrading economic diplomacy skills through a partnership with the Asian Institute of Management; developing effective strategies to negotiate and assert the rightful position of the country in the community of nations; encouraging foreign service personnel to reach beyond their grasp to promote the national interests; and endeavoring to ensure that the people of DFA were well provided for by continuing to update compensation and allowances, making provisions for a balance foreign posting system and encouraging their professional development.”
Also, the department was able to provide better assistance to more Filipinos who were in need of it. “Assistance to nationals remains a top priority for the Philippines. The DFA takes care of almost eight million overseas Filipinos on a 24/7 basis, in 174 countries, over 40 time zones,” Mr. Del Rosario said.
“Consequently, DFA has maintained its reputation as the ‘department that never sleeps’.”
In a span of three years, from 2012 to 2015, the department provided assistance to over 80,000 overseas Filipino