Ms. Gloria Arroyo, who continues to squat in Malacañang, has decided once again to go gallivanting abroad – this time to Egypt and Syria.

Her chief mouthpiece, who may soon need to use a good brand of mouthwash because of the garbage that he constantly spews, said Arroyo would be on a "mission of peace." He said she would seek the help of Egypt and Syria in the peace process in Mindanao.

If you are going to lie, can’t you at least be more imaginative, perhaps by saying she needs to go to that part of the world again for a quick stopover in a neighboring emirate?

Another worn-out excuse for the junket given by her chief mouthpiece is that she would meet with prospective investors and Filipino communities. Those are not good enough reasons to make people believe that this junket will not once again be a sheer waste of precious public funds at a time when she is asking everyone else to tighten their belts.

What Arroyo should "tighten" is her constant urge to travel at people’s expense. At least some congressmen insist that when they travel, even with her, they use their personal funds. That’s imagination, laughable though it may be.

Next month, as announced earlier, she will again be travelling to Brazil. Really, the woman must think she owns the national treasury that she can use public funds at her whim. But as one observer remarked, "may katapusan din ‘yan".

***

All that talk about former AFP chief Alexander Yano as being a soldier’s soldier, one with principle unlike his immediate predecessor, one who would not allow his civilian superiors to make a mockery of military discipline, had me believing that there is hope for this country yet.

But when he agreed to retire early as desired by his supposed commander-in-chief, I realized he had no ding-a-lings in his crotch either. Not only that, he turned out to have no delicadeza as well when he accepted with alacrity Arroyo’s offer for him to be ambassador to Brunei. He will be there for less than a year.

Earlier, his deputy, Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna, was offered Brunei but he declined, according to DFA sources, because he did not think it was the right thing to do. And I praised him for what he did. I take back that praise. He too will be in The Netherlands for less than a year.

The two must have been offered something they could not refuse.

I wonder how the truly professional members of the military hierarchy feel.

***

The Cabinet Secretary was quoted as saying that the government "urgently needs" to deploy an ambassador to Brunei. Really?

We have an ambassador there right now. What is so urgent about replacing her at this time? Hadn’t the Sultan of Brunei himself requested that she be allowed to stay on for as long as he is Sultan?

Yano said he could not wait for his retirement on June 13 because he would have to wait for at least two to three months to be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments.

"It would be embarrassing if the host country will not accredit you because you are not yet confirmed," he said.

For your first lesson in diplomatic practice, General, you cannot be accredited by any host government unless and until you are first nominated by a sending government through a request for agrement. (That’s French for agreement, General.) Once your agrement is granted, you then go and present your Letters of Credence to the head of state of your host country. In our case, on the other hand, you cannot be nominated as ambassador to another country unless and until you are confirmed by the CA. Follow?

***

Arroyo’s chief mouthpiece reportedly said it was Arroyo who nominated Yano and Luna to their countries of assignment. But of course, dummy. Who else can do that, her husband?

"That’s one reason they have to retire early – so they can catch up with the confirmation proceedings at the Commission on Appointments," Mr. Mouthpiece added.

That’s it? That’s one reason? What are the others? Please naman. Do you really take every thinking Filipino for a fool?

***

And the poor, hapless DFA spokesman, in defense of Arroyo’s move, said "Yano and Luna are outstanding public servants who served the country well."

And the numerous career officers holding Chief of Mission items, including him, are not?

To his credit, however, the DFA spokesman said that in general, the appointment of ambassadors was announced by Malacañang and their recall, by the DFA. It was an oblique reference to the impropriety of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro announcing the appointments of Yano and Luna.

***

Even before this latest controversy involving the appointments of Yano, Luna and, let us not forget, Tuason (to the Holy See), many of my former colleagues in the career corps of the Foreign Service have been writing to me about the injustices inflicted upon many of them during the last eight years of Arroyo’s regime.

While I feel fortunate that I am no longer in the service, I do empathize with them. I can feel their anger and frustration and wish I could do something to help them aside from just writing in this space about their complaints. But I am afraid that beyond that, there is nothing more I could do.

In any event, I’ve always felt that they themselves are the ones who could do something about their predicament. I was, therefore, heartened when they finally took the bull by the horns and sent an appeal to Ms. Arroyo to respect and treat the career corps more fairly.

However, I am not sure if it is the most effective way to deal with their problem. Arroyo has been running roughshod over the DFA for years. I don’t see her changing her ways now.

At this point, I am reminded of a time when, if memory serves, the career officers in the French Foreign Service were faced with a similar problem from the political establishment. They agreed amongst themselves that they needed to take decisive action to protect the career service from unwarranted intrusion and meddling by political forces within the government.

Without breaking any law, they managed to make the establishment realize their importance and indispensability in promoting the national interest through the diplomatic and consular services. They simply slowed down in doing their jobs. But, it must be pointed out, this can only work when everybody cooperates.

***

Going back to the complaints I have received from DFA career officers, here is the latest:

"Excellency,

"Again we release our pent-up frustration at the sorry state of affairs in the so-called premier agency of the government, the DFA.

"First, another round of appointments of political ambassadors has invaded the DFA – Yano to Brunei, Luna to the Netherlands, Tuazon to the Vatican, and Lagdameo to be appointed to the Court of St. James’s from Madrid. But these non-career appointments, parang manhid na ang DFA. It happens all the time under the present dispensation.

"What is hurting the career service corps more is the lack of propriety and respect for seniority even among its own ranks in recent promotions to Chief of Mission (CM) and the appointment of career AEPs (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary).

"In the last two CM promotion rounds, several glaring and inexcusable moves were made:

"1. Inclusion of non-eligibles in terms of Carmin (Career Minister) residency requirements in the promotable list to CM II. The most prominent of these were people seen as favorites of the Secretary or the Undersecretary for Administration in the list. Coincidentally, many of these did not even pass the Carmin exam on the first try and were given Carmin items way after their colleagues who actually passed the exam. Mukhang nakalimutan na requirement sa batas ang residency sa Carmin level na puede lang naman mag-run kung pumasa ka na ng Carmin.

"2. Lo and behold, people like Eva Betita, now Consul General in Sydney and Helen Barbers, now DCM (Deputy Chief of Mission) in Beijing and rumored as being eyed for AEP in Myanmar, were promoted to CM II over people not only more senior but also actually QUALIFIED.

"3. In the next round of CM promotions held recently (with people only finding out two days before the actual voting), again at least 4 people who did not pass the Carmin exam the first time and obviously more junior to others who are also qualified and senior, made it. Many of them are all presently assigned in the Home Office and obviously more visible to those voting. Eleanor Jaucian, Cresente Relacion, Monina Calangan (who reportedly and brazenly exerted political pressure on board members and even the Secretary for her promotion even when it is (of) general knowledge in the Department that she cannot even run a small division), were all promoted to CM II over more obviously qualified and senior people.

"4. The DFA’s answer to the growing disgruntlement is to say ‘please wait, your turn will come and we will have new items.’ But people are not appeased or reassured because what will stop the department from including in the promotable list those who have not completed their Carmin residency? May precedent na. In the meantime the rules are in a constant state of flux. Kumakalat na ang balita na sa next round of promotions, ‘yung mga junior Carmin na malapit sa kasalukuyang Usec for Administration ay nagbabalak na ng mga hakbang para makasali sa CM promotion. Garapalan na ho talaga.

"Dapat po siguro, i-abolish na lang ang Carmin exam kasi magastos lang. Ang mga nakakapasa ay nauunahan pa ng mga di nakapasa sa promotion. Eto po lang ata ang ahensiya ng gobyerno kung saan, ang mga bagsak sa pagsusulit ang na-pro-promote ng maaga. Talo pa po ang Civil Service.

"Sana po mailagay ninyo ang mga sentimiento ng mga nakararami sa career corps sa mga nangyayari sa DFA. May pulitika na nga sa labas, mas may pulitika pa sa loob.

"Maraming salamat po at mabuhay kayo"

***

Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo has tendered his irrevocable resignation to Ms. Arroyo. He said he could no longer stand the way the DFA is being prostituted by her. He said he has had enough of Arroyo bypassing him and ignoring his recommendations that protect and promote the professionalization of his Department, a Department that was once synonymous with his late uncle, the great Carlos P. Romulo. He said he wants to leave a legacy of some kind that would regard his watch as something he and his heirs could be proud of.

Then someone from offside said to him: "But you were also involved in the prostitution of the Department."

He replied: "I had no choice. I wanted to keep my job. Never mind the interminable meetings of ASEAN, UN, APEC, ASEM, OIC; never mind that I committed bloopers and slept through some of them; never mind that I was a willing accomplice in the near-dismemberment of the Republic through the aborted MOA on the creation of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity; never mind that the Supreme Court rebuked me for having signed with the US ambassador that agreement transferring convicted rapist Cpl. Daniel Smith to American custody; never mind that I never put up a spirited defense of the career corps when numerous political appointments were being made; never mind that I allowed and even initiated in some cases the extension of services of several career ambassadors way beyond the legally mandated retirement age to the detriment of the younger officers; never mind that I created in my office mini-geographic offices manned by junior officers to oversee the work of the geographic offices in the Department to the consternation and dismay of their respective heads; never mind that I allowed my undersecretary for administration who is close, perhaps closer than I am, to the powers-that-be, to get away with faulty administrative decisions, especially on matters of promotion of officers and employees; never mind that I often yelled at my subordinates when things go awry through no fault of theirs; never mind that my own daughter is assigned in my office; never mind that I have allowed a member of my staff to commit nepotism by having me sign the appointment papers of her two nephews as DFA employees; never mind that I have appointed a Senior Foreign Affairs Adviser who does nothing, but receives salary from taxpayers’ money; never mind that I truly am an inveterate traveler worse than my boss. But there is a limit to what I can take. Huh?!

That was when I woke up with a jolt. I was having a nightmare.

***

Warm congratulations to Manny Pacquiao for his tremendous feat!

***

There are 422 days left before the end on 30 June 2010 of the stolen presidency of Ms. Arroyo, courtesy of "Garci", et al.

***

Today is the 7th day of the third year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.

"The last two years have been like an eternity of uncertainty," said Edita , Jonas’ mother.