Senator Trillanes introduces bill proposing Foreign Policy Advisory Board

10/19/2016 | 12:24 0 Posted in Foreign Policy, Governance, Local Issues, The World, Uncategorized

Senator Trillanes shows the way Introduces bill proposing FPAB.

Photos courtesy Wikipedia and Facebook

The antics of the President of the Philippines have irked a majority of the people in addition to those that have been the target of the punisher’s punishing tongue. Yesterday’s article had the mention of the opposition to Duterte’s utterances that came up for criticism at an address by Justice Carpio.

The coronation of the Mayor of Davao as the President was with the greatest of fanfare since what was promised by him was the chance to turn the nation into a dreamland. The reaction of the common man was one of elation and soaring hopes of the cleansing of their society.

Now, the effect of the uncalled for abuses are making people have a rethink on the free hand given to the President to do and say as he likes.

The thinking aloud is fast changing into objections and opposition to his wayward tongue is growing by the day. Some of the sincere people are slowly gathering the courage and the solutions to the unrestrained and provocative public statements of the President.

The first concrete step in the direction of controlling the mindless declarations by President Duterte or any other authority with specific regards to the Foreign policy of the nation has been proposed.

This initiative came in the form of a bill that was introduced by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV a few days ago. The proposal that is likely to provide stability and proper direction to the Foreign Policy envisages the setting up of a Foreign Policy Advisory Board (FPAB) that is available in most countries even though the nomenclature might be different.

The intention is not to control the President but to show him the right direction; personal comments can never be controlled.

The proposal that is mooted well be controlled directly by the President and proper legislation is proposed provide this board with the powers of a national agency.

The idea is to provide assistance to the President in formulating the foreign policy so that all aspects are taken into consideration before the policy can become uniform.

The members of the PPAB will be responsible to provide their considered opinions and agreement/reservations on all foreign policy issues. That is why the FPAB will draw from the senior most and most seasoned diplomats and bureaucrats.

While proposing this bill, Sen. Trillanes asserted that passing this bill would result in the development of a foreign policy that is consistent with the desires of the President and his cabinet while taking into consideration of the independent views of the statutory body appointed for this purpose.

Traditionally, the duties that are to be handled by the FPAB, if passed into law, have been the job of the Department of Foreign Affairs and its Secretary and other bureaucrats.

The recent disputes and multi-pronged issues that the nation has been facing have upped the stakes with the result that the government officials are unable to cope with or guide the President’s declarations or decisions.
It is imperative that the President has access to the independent board who will lend their experience in taking their nation forward with a rational, informed approach.
Trillanes declared that this body which will be providing a holistic foreign policy through inputs of the most capable minds in the bureaucracy of the Philippines; but, this does not mean that the DFA will be defunct.

The services of the DFA may become more specific and effective; together, the DFA and the FPAB will be able to serve the nation professionally.

The FPAB – as proposed

The constitution of the Foreign Policy Advisory Board (FPAB) has also been meticulously studied and outlined by the Senator who seems to have worked it out quite well.

The following are the salient features of the bill as proposed by Senator Trillanes:
• Chairman – one,
• Executive members – Eight,
• Minimum age – 40 years.
• Must be natural-born Filipinos with a minimum of 15 years as:
• Possessing distinguished experience in the government or private sector,
• Former diplomats, at least two of the members should be belonging to the diplomatic corps,
• Senior bureaucrats,
• The board should have a minimum of two members representing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) or
the Philippine National Police (PNP) of a sufficiently higher rank and with an outstanding record and
knowledge,
• At least two of the members should be drawn from distinguished Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and
• At least two more members should be professionals or businessmen.

Proposed framework

The proposed FPAB will have the following powers and functions:

• To study and assess the collective general policies and country-specific deviations for strategic
implementation,
• To weigh the current policies as against those that are suggested by the inputs of members,
• To fulfill the National security interests,
• To keep updated responses to developments within the country, the region and the world and take appropriate
pre-emptive precautions,
• To cause studies and investigations into various situations; collect data, analyze and apprise the
President and other appropriate authorities.

The bill filed by the Senator has been well received since it is likely to ensure all round balancing of the foreign policy and ensuring wholesome and mutually beneficial relationships with other countries that share common goals of security, commerce and well being.

Even President Duterte had, after assuming the office of the President, declared that he will be adopting a foreign policy that would be independent.

The proposed legislation has been widely welcomed and is likely to be taken up with a general consensus about its efficacy and need to carry on the task of good governance that propels the country forward to anticipate and meet all the challenges that arise for the nation from external sources or from within.

Even Ernesto Abella, the official spokesman of the President of the Philippines, was quite openly pleased that such a proposal had come for a bill that would give a proper and balanced direction to those that are required to take important policy decisions regarding the safety and security of the nation.

With agencies like the FPAB, it will mean that the governance will be creating traditions and precedence; this will also mean that time tested systems will be installed and serve as a guidance system to the future governments and authorities.

After all, there is no other area that is more important for a citizen than the safety and security of his motherland.