The integrity of the foreign secretary

The position of foreign secretary is the most sensitive of any Cabinet position in any government because he is literally the official face of the country in dealing with foreign governments and the international media. What he says is the mirror image of his country’s head of state. He must command the respect of his own department and should be above reproach in his private and official capacity. Last May, I wrote the following in my column:

“The choice of Perfecto Yasay as secretary of foreign affairs will be a test against that conventional wisdom. Jun certainly has the tools to succeed long term. However, in these troubled and uncertain times, I am not sure if this is the time to appoint a secretary with no experience in foreign affairs. I would be more at ease if these were entrusted into the steady, experienced hands of former career officers…. to steer us through these precarious times” Regrettably, I was mistaken when I said “Jun Yasay will be an asset to the new administration, but I am not convinced that it should be in the capacity of DFA secretary.”

I am normally acerbic, but for some reason – maybe it was the cognac while I was writing that particular column – mellowed my tongue and gave Jun the benefit of the doubt. Back then, I had expressed doubts about his capability to be foreign secretary because of his inexperience in foreign affairs. Now after almost a year in office, with the benefit of hindsight and the facts coming out about his muddied past, far from being an asset to the Duterte government, many perceive him to be a major liability to the country and an embarrassment for the Filipino people.

First, he has a penchant to misspeak the country’s position on matters of critical importance to our assertions of sovereignty and rights as a nation. His conflicting statements has created uncertainty and undermined our hard won position on the West Philippine Sea. He has blown hot and cold – one day welcoming China to joint exploration and then another denouncing China’s militarization of the area. He has had to repeatedly back track on his statements throwing doubts about our conviction on the righteousness of our claims to the EEZ and thus eroding whatever international approbation we might have earned in our favor in dealing with China.

Second, by all accounts, he has failed to demonstrate what is considered a prerequisite for this position: his faith in the staff of the Foreign Service. I cite, as an example, the bungled manner in which he placed the Philippines in an embarrassing situation by having a newly appointed ambassador to the UK and almost simultaneously submitting a new ambassador to the Commission on Appointments. Moreover, there have been serious questions about the “political appointments” which he chooses to ignore for fear the President will chastise him. An analogy to sports to describe the state of affairs at the DFA is the phrase “he has lost the dressing room” when a coach or manager loses the trust and belief of his players and they go through the motions of playing without conviction.

And now, his past has caught up with him, as he faces close scrutiny from the Commission of Appointments at his confirmation hearing. First, his citizenship is now in question. Documents show he was an American citizen until June 2016 when he officially renounced his US citizenship before the American consul in Manila. This means he violated the law when he occupied the position of SEC chairman while still a US citizen back in 1995-2000. He may also be liable for perjury because he declared under oath at his confirmation hearing as secretary of foreign affairs that he was never a US citizen – which begs the question of why renounce it when he was never an American citizen as he claims. Worse, it seems he never went through the process of reacquiring his Philippine citizenship which may render him stateless. The good secretary had better head home right away from his foreign travels before he ends up living at NAIA like the stateless character that Tom Hanks played in the movie “The Terminal.”

And now a trail of legal woes has surfaced. He has a pending case for syndicated estafa when he was a chief legal counsel of the now defunct Banco Filipino. He had a string of cases in the US involving tax liabilities and delayed payment filed by the government of New York City and New York State. According to LexisNexis, there have been in the New York City Judgement and Lien Filings as follows: on Oct. 17, 1994, a NY City tax warrant of $3,620.99; $3,620.00 for a case filed on Sept. 20, 1993 against debtors Perfecto Yasay and Sherida Yasay by Citicorp Mortgage Inc.; on June 23, 1993 the NY State Dept. of Taxation & Finance for the amount of $5,332.41; on Jan. 25, 1993, the NY State Tax Commission filed for $589. I merely copied the pertinent details and cannot confirm guilt or innocence, but clearly it is an indication of the condemnable habit of delayed payments.

This alleged pattern of willful disregard of the law and legal obligations – he being a lawyer – should have rendered him unfit for public service from the get go. He has placed the legal profession in a terrible light in manipulating his knowledge to fudge his way to the top. Jun Yasay is in a bind of his own making and I would not have added my say were it not for the fact that Malacañang continues to defend him. Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella (a fellow member of the United Church of Christ), averred that the citizenship of Secretary Yasay was a “non-issue” and that his explanations are logical and sensible.

In the face of such willful and blatant disregard of the law, it is a worrying sign if Malacañang would let this pass particularly in light of the fact that Yasay may likely be given another position – including God forbid, the BSP governorship – as rumors have it. And all because he was lucky enough to share a dorm room with the President, way back when they were both law students, never mind if he has no scruples about legal niceties.