There are serious worries approximately the government’s plan to cancel courtesy diplomatic passports following Hong Kong’s denial of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario‘s access.
The Department of Foreign Affairs these days introduced that it might revoke all the identical kinds of passports issued to previous overseas affairs chiefs and envoys, together with Del Rosario.
Vice President Leni Robredo argued that the branch needs to have issued the order a long time ago if the governing frame has issues with it.
“Eh kung talagang hindi dapat iyon ginagamit ng mga courting opisyal ng DFA, dapat noong natapos ‘yung termino, obligasyon ng DFA na i-cancel na. Bakit ngayon lang?” she stated in her weekly radio show “Biserbisyong Leni.”
She brought up that is regarded as if the cancellation was the branch’s “knee-jerk reaction” to Del Rosario’s scenario, thinking about how he became involved in a communique filed against the International Criminal Court against China.
Del Rosario’s ride, the passport had clearance. Del Rosario talked about how the overseas affairs branch, the sole business enterprise authorized to problem passports, revalidated his courtesy diplomatic passport and informed modern DFA leader Teodoro Locsin Jr‘s office approximately it.
“I submitted for revalidation, as traditional, I got the approval because they recognize that I go to Hong Kong frequently for the board conferences there,” he said in an interview.
“In addition to filing myself to revalidation, I once at a time referred to as the office of the Secretary of the DFA, and I stated that I was touring Hong Kong on a commercial enterprise ride and I didn’t want to suffer the identical fate as an Ombudswoman Morales,” Del Rosario added.
The DFA is supposed to tell the Philippine Consul General in Hong Kong of the former pinnacle diplomat’s experience, who will then inform Hong Kong’s immigration workplace of his arrival through a letter.
“But seemingly, no person even knew where that letter changed into or whether or not they’ve obtained it,” the previous top diplomat stated in every other interview.
Del Rosario is a holder of a blue diplomatic passport. Others with such privilege are high-rating government officials which include the president, vice president, senate president, speaker of the residence of representatives, chief justice, cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, participants of the Congress, the central bank governor, and officers’ spouses and unmarried minor kids.
Other people may be granted any such passport below orders of the president and the Foreign Affairs secretary.
Diplomatic passports are also subjected to revalidation before the holder is allowed to go away from the country, in step with the Philippine Passport Act of 1996.
While Del Rosario’s passport became revalidated through the department, the employer although introduced might cancel all the courtesy diplomatic passports issued to former diplomats.
Locsin even pointed out that former diplomats are entitled below the law to keep such passports. Some Filipinos wondered about the plan to revoke them.
Locsin said that former envoys are granted the privilege to have courtesy diplomatic passports under Department Order No. 12-1993 of the Foreign Affairs Department in ex-DFA Chief Perfecto Yasay Jr’s term.
Del Rosario turned into issued one in December 2016 with a validity of as much as December 2021.
He served as the United States of America’s pinnacle diplomat for the duration of former President Benigno Aquino III’s period and is credited for being in the back of the Philippines’ legal victory over China whose expansive claims over the South China Sea are invalidated using an international tribunal.
