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| "Philip, Philipina, Philippe"... for the Philippines. |
It's been a hectic week once again! But, what else is new? Nah, not complaining... I'm just amazed that I'm still feeling like I can do a 5k run after that "marathon" I ran this week. Perhaps, the "pit stops" in this week's marathon were truly refreshing and exhilarating... they added to the energy rather than zapping it. Good, good!
So, the US Ambassador to the Philippines, H. E. Philip S. Goldberg, visited the University of Santo Tomas last Wednesday as Lecturer in the 3rd installment of the University's Diplomats' Lecture Series. He spoke to the students about his career as a diplomat, hoping that his example might be of use for those who aspire to become diplomat themselves in the future. He emphasized the importance of being "curious about things around us" especially those that constitute diplomatic affairs such as political, economic and
public affairs. "Accumulating knowledge about these diplomatic activities," he said, "will become very useful in your future career as diplomats." He said that "an innate curiosity of world affairs" can translate to an overseas role as a diplomat, but that it all "begins from understanding your own country."
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| H. E. Philip S. Goldberg, US envoy to the Philippines, visiting the University of Santo Tomas for the first time. |
For a diplomatic mission to be successful, he emphasized the importance of "strengthening people-to-people relationship through educational programs, cultural programs and youth programs". This is why he considers Education USA as one of the major programs of the US Embassy in the Philippines that he works hard for to keep moving forward and benefit the Filipinos, especially the youth.
Of his work as an American envoy to the Philippines, he made mention of the long-standing friendship between the United States of America and the Philippines as his basis in conducting his diplomatic mission in the country. And he came to his post in Manila with a rich background and experience.
With the challenges of climate change to which the Philippines is very vulnerable, the maritime security-related tension with economic and international political implications in South China Sea and West Philippine Sea, the very promising economic growth that the Philippines is currently enjoying, the challenge of being at the cusp of political transition as the local and national elections loom, and many other interesting transitions in the ASEAN region where
the Philippines play an important role, the Ambassador has got his job cut out for him. Of his appointment to a diplomatic post in the Philippines at such 'exciting times', he was said to be a perfect fit, being one of the US State Department's "best and brightest". And, indeed, he hit the ground running when he arrived in November 2013 to assume his post after typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) hammered the Visayas, leaving tremendous devastation in the area, and thousands of people needing emergency assistance. The Ambassador proved equal to the immensity of the task, standing side by side with Filipinos as they combat the daunting challenge.
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| Crystal Clear: H.E. Goldberg, making a strong point on... international maritime issues, especially the respect of freedom of navigation. |
Having seen first hand how the Filipinos who suffered from Yolanda's rampage bounced back over the last two years, he expressed his admiration for the Filipino's resilience during his Talk. He also spoke about the "impressive optimism of Filipinos" that is now resulting to a "commendable economic progress" among others, and the "admirable way by which the Philippines is dealing with the South China Sea issue".
As recipient of the Fulbright-Philippine Agriculture Scholarship and having enjoyed the full benefit of the US Department of State's Education USA for five years in Cornell University, located in the beautiful finger lakes region of New York State, I feel duty-bound to support the efforts of the US Embassy in reaching out to Filipinos in friendship. Not that I don't enjoy it, because I do - tremendously! And, while I've followed from a distance the Embassy's activities over the years, I think I've never felt this much affinity to the Embassy since Ambassador Goldberg assumed the post at Roxas Boulevard. I believe in his sincere and faithful sense of mission to my country, and I'm an admirer of his mind's sharpness... although he can be quite severe in his facial expression - even when he jokes. Oops! Hmmm, 'diplomacy'... I need to exercise it some! :)
Seriously, I'm a fan.
Seriously, I'm a fan.
More power to you, Your Excellency!
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Photo credit: The first photo was from Mr. Philippe Jose Hernandez, the Assistant Director of the UST Social Media Bureau (SMB). I took the other two photos.
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