A retired senior diplomat had advised the Philippine government to observe “strategic silence” in dealing with the recent decision of Arab countries to cut diplomatic ties from Qatar.
Retired Foreign Affairs undersecretary Rafael Seguis advised against the recent decision of the Philippines to impose a deployment ban in Qatar, saying that the country must observe the basic principle of diplomacy, which is to stay quiet.
“You should not side, we should observe strategic silence to address this issue,” Seguis, who was a negotiator and rescuer of OFWs in a conflict area in the Middle East before, said in a roundtable discussion among selected journalists.
On Tuesday, Department of Labor and Employment secretary Silvestre Bello issued a deployment ban to Qatar as the gas-rich Gulf state grappled with a diplomatic crisis after its neighbors cut ties with Doha.
Bello said he made his decision due to fears. That problems like food shortages could affect the more than 200,000 Filipinos in Qatar should the crisis worsen.
According to an OFW who have been living and working in Qatar for six years, the situation in the said area is normal and safe even after the diplomatic crisis.
“The panic buying was just for one day when the news broke. After that, everything is back to normal. As an OFW here, I got by my day normally. We don’t really feel anything, nothing different,” she told the Manila Standard.
Seguis, who have spent most of his diplomatic career in the Middle East and Northern Africa for the past five Presidents as a crisis manager, said that the Duterte administration should have been “discreet” in quietly instructing our embassies concerned to update their respective contingency plans.
“It seems unlikely the present Saudi-Qatar diplomatic crisis would result into war but I believe it is better to be on the side of caution than be sorry or words to that effect in an effort of our government to protect the OFWs,” Seguis said.
“However, I think it should be done discreetly by quietly instructing our embassies concerned to update their respective Contingent Plans,” he said, adding that the Philippines and Qatar has a vibrant diplomatic relation citing President Rodrigo Duterte’s official visit to the Arab countries in April.
In a separate interview, a source in the DFA, who refused to be named , said that Bello’s decision was an “amateur” move, saying that the Philippines should have quietly observe the development than make a drastic move.
When asked if the DFA is aware of Bello’s decision, the agency’s spokesman Robespierre Bolivar said yes.
He also clarified that the announcement of the deployment ban will be implemented only among new hires.
“DFA, DOLE, and other relevant agencies, as well as our Foreign Service Posts coordinated,” he said.
“(The) announcement of the parameters of deployment restrictions affect only new hires,” Bolivar said.
Seguis,on the other hand, said that a Rapid Response Team should always be in place, to assess the situation of the OFWs in conflict countries.
The senior diplomat said he does not think there is a need for repatriation efforts since it is unlikely for Saudi-Qatar diplomatic crisis would go into war.
Saudi Arabia, and several of its allies severed diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday after Doha has allegedly supporting extremist.
Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Maldives also cut ties with Qatar, which Riyadh accused of supporting groups, including some backed by Iran “that aim to destabilize the region”.
DFA on Migrant Workers Affairs executive director Raul Dado said that the agency has already sent a rapid response team to Qatar to coordinate with the embassy team there.
In 2004, Seguis successfully negotiated the release of Angelo de la Cruz and Roberto Tarongoy, who were abducted by rebel groups in Iraq during the US-led military campaign against Saddam Hussein.
Recalling his experiences as a crisis manger, Seguis said that every time there is a crisis in other countries, the Philippines has remained neutral.
“And that’s the basic principle of diplomacy, you should not side,” he said.
Seguis was posted to Indonesia, East Timor, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, and Jordan, as Philippine ambassador.
He also served in Philippine embassies in Libya, Washington D.C., Rome, Thailand, Egypt, and Iran.