Cayetano: Stop mic diplomacy, ‘sabong’ and crab mentality

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano addresses staff of the foreign affairs department during the flag-raising ceremony Monday, May 22, 2017 .(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

MANILA — Don’t engage in microphone diplomacy. Change mindsets especially those of “sabong” and crab mentality.

During his first flag-raising ceremony as the new head of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano gave these marching orders to the agency’s officials and rank and file, also imploring their aid to help him achieve the tasks that President Duterte has set for him.

In a speech, Cayetano said that if the Duterte government had the “Build, Build, Build” program, DFA employees got the mission to “Build, Bridge, Build”  or build relationships, t act as bridge and build a nation.

He also reminded them of their roles as professionals, protectors of Filipino overseas workers and the Philippines’ public face.

“Regardless if its gathering of information or sharing of information or gossip, we are the public face of the Philippines,” said Cayetano.

“By conducting diplomacy in public especially in conflict resolution, we raise emotions and minimize the space wherein we can find solutions or we can maneuver,” he said. “This is what I mean by not engaging in
microphone diplomacy.”

The newly appointed DFA chief also advised agency personnel of their task to change mindsets, especially the mindset of “sabong” and crab mentality, a term used to describe the behavior of Filipinos who try
to pull down fellow Filipinos who are succeeding.

He said word war or bickering had no place in the DFA. “This is for the political department—for Congress, the Senate and even the Malacañang. But here in the DFA, we will not accept the premise that only one person is right or the left is better or the right is
better,” he said.

In the same breath, Cayetano appealed to the DFA employees to help him accomplish his tasks as head of the agency. From his end, he vowed to help them get the benefits that the law has promised them.  SFM