Francis then messaged: “May boom boom po Sir sa paligid but flight is on schedule.” He said he could not tell if shells were landing inside the airport complex but the point of impact, according to him, was somewhere near as he could feel the ground shaking. A few hours ago, we said goodbye to … Continue reading Repatriation via Mitiga
A DIPLOMAT’S JOURNAL
A collection of stories gathered while serving as a foreign service officer in the Philippines and abroad from 1998 to present.
Homecoming
It was the Philippine flag flying proudly over the Embassy that led two distressed kababayan of ours to safety. Mario and Dominic, both first timers in Iraq, fled from their employer who they said overworked and underpaid them. They took a taxi and asked to be brought to the Embassy, which was located at Al-Jadriyah … Continue reading Homecoming
Tearful Farewell in Tunis
The Filipina nurse could not hold back her tears as she hugged and thanked us for the last time. We were standing just outside the immigration area at Tunis Carthage International Airport where she and her seven-year-old son will take the flight that would first take them to Doha and then on to Manila. “Pasensya … Continue reading Tearful Farewell in Tunis
Bracing for the Offensive
The last time I was with my family was Christmas last year in New York. I was supposed to be there in May for my son’s college graduation but I was not able to make it because fighting once again broke out in Tripoli. I would come to miss other important family events during the … Continue reading Bracing for the Offensive
Unsung Heroes
Today, we honor one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines—Andres Bonifacio, the founder of the revolutionary society Katipunan. We will commemorate this day by paying tribute not only to the Great Plebeian but also to the unsung heroes of the Philippine foreign service—the men and women who risked their lives by serving in conflict … Continue reading Unsung Heroes
That Boy Bogs
The last time I saw Bogs was five years ago at the Tunis Carthage International Airport. He was eight years old then when we took him, his mother, and several other kababayan on a grueling 12-hour journey by land from Tripoli. They were among the more than 300 Filipinos who we were able to escort … Continue reading That Boy Bogs
The Search for the Missing
Shortly before leaving Manila for Tripoli in 2019, we met with the family members of four Filipino oil workers who have been missing and presumed dead since they were abducted by Islamic State extremists in southern Libya on 6 March 2015. We met them at the conference room of the Office of the Undersecretary for … Continue reading The Search for the Missing
The Hero in Lacson Casim
Lacson Casim was always there to assist me when I was serving as Chargè d’Affaires and Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Philippines in Libya. Lucky, as he is popularly known among Filipinos and Libyans alike, is one of four Filipinos who were locally hired in Libya to support our diplomats assigned there. … Continue reading The Hero in Lacson Casim
Paalam, Toots
I was serving at the Regional Consular Office (RCO) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at Clark Field in Pampanga when I received the call. It was Toots Ople, youngest daughter and chief of staff of Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople, who was on the other end. “Kapatid, ikaw daw nagleak nito?” She … Continue reading Paalam, Toots
Danger in Janzour
We were having an early al fresco dinner of baked leg of lamb when we heard the familiar bursts from an AK-47. We paused to listen. More bursts followed. We looked at each other. “Na naman?” I asked. “Hindi Sir. Walang sumasagot.” There was no response. We then dismissed it as just one local guy … Continue reading Danger in Janzour
Baby Gabrielle and her Mother
She was just three days old when the Embassy took her into its custody. She was separated from her mother shortly after birth and there was no one here to look after her. That is how she became the youngest distressed Filipino we have ever assisted. Her mother was several months pregnant when she decided … Continue reading Baby Gabrielle and her Mother
Rockets at Tripoli Central
Woke up this morning to news of another rain of rockets that struck the Tripoli Central Hospital and surrounding areas at past two in the morning. There are 15 Filipino nurses working there. They are all safe and accounted for. Before Tripoli Central, it was the Abu Salim Hospital that was struck a few days … Continue reading Rockets at Tripoli Central
Balancing Act in Tripoli
When the third civil war in Libya erupted in April 2019, the default action was for us at Tripoli PE to make recommendations for the Department of Foreign Affairs to raise the alert level. This would mean putting Libya under Alert Levels III or IV. Once we do that, travel restrictions would automatically be put … Continue reading Balancing Act in Tripoli
Close Call at Qasr bin Gashir
We were on our way back to the Embassy this afternoon after visiting our nurses at the Tripoli Central Hospital and the Al Khadra General Hospital when we received the call. It was Bari Macalawi, a member of the augmentation team from the Department of Foreign Affairs, relaying information he had just received. Bari said … Continue reading Close Call at Qasr bin Gashir
9-11
What could be happening? I asked myself as images of the bombings a few years earlier of the World Trade Center and of the Federal Building in Oklahoma crossed my mind.
The Road to Garabolli
We had reasons to be worried. For us to be able to get to Misrata, we would have to take the Coastal Highway and that highway cuts through Garabolli. And with clashes reportedly taking place there, the highway is no longer passable.
Misadventure at Mt. Pinatubo
"A US Navy SEAL is supposed to be missing in Pinatubo,” Lieutenant Miraflor told us. Apparently, the American service member, who was among those taking part in ongoing bilateral exercises in Subic, failed to return from a trek to Mount Pinatubo and was presumed missing.
Encounters with Amang
From where he was seated, Blas Fajardo Ople, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, asked me where I was being proposed for my first foreign assignment. I told him I was being groomed as Vice Consul at the Philippine Consulate General or as Third Secretary at the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York.
Exile
Fly Dubai FZ211 bound for Baghdad was half empty compared to the flight to Jeddah that was scheduled to leave the same time from Terminal 4 of Dubai International. As the Boeing 737 taxied, the onboard entertainment system began showing "American Sniper." Quite timely, I told myself. Is it an indication of things to come? In my bag was the book "Green Zone" that Chuchay and Butch Fernandez gave as a going away present.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary
If he asked, I would tell him the story of how a few days after we repatriated the remains of the 13 overseas workers who died in the fire at the Capitol Hotel in Erbil, three Filipinas came running after us. They introduced themselves as teachers and said they just wanted to shake our hands and thank us for reuniting the victims, who they did not even know, with their families back in the Philippines: “It usually takes weeks but the Embassy was able to send them home in just seven days,” they told us. “That really means a lot to their loved ones.”
DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONTLINE 