Guingona's tragedy

Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr.'s recent humiliation in Mexico once again jostled the Filipino people into examining its stature in the community of nations.

Guingona was in Mexico to attend the United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development from March 21 to 23. At a luncheon for heads of states hosted by the governor of the State of Nuevo Leon, Guingona reportedly arrived on time, presented his formal invitation and was led to Table no. 5 of the dining hall of the Centro de Arte de Monterey.

A few minutes later, Guingona was told that there had been a mistake and that his name was not on the guest list. He decided to walk out and immediately ordered Manila to file a diplomatic protest. Hours before that, Guingona had delivered a speech on "The Challenge of Poverty" with the introduction delivered in Spanish in deference to his hosts.

Rightly so, the apologies of the Mexican ambassador to the Philippines were not acceptable, as it was the vice president who was humiliated. The DFA required that the apologies had to come at least from the Mexican Foreign Ministry, and should be directed not only to Guingona but to the Philippine government and the Filipino people as well.

While this ineptitude may be forgotten one year hence, it does reflect on the Filipino people's standing in the community of nations. In a hall with more than 150 world leaders, including President George W. Bush, the Filipino representative may just be an insignificant statistic that did not require a double check despite his formal invitation.

The presence of a vice president from a poor, rebel-infested, and highly fractious country like the Philippines is probably dispensable in a luncheon where the rich and progressive nations strut their wealth with their noses in the air.

More than anything, Guingona's indignity is a wake up call to all Filipinos at home and abroad to prove to the world that the Filipino does not deserve such shabby treatment, that the Filipino is worthy to be in the company of the best and brightest, and that the Filipino deserves the benefit of the doubt.

The tragedy of the Philippines, however, is that not only has it made self-immolation a national past time, it has even raised it to the level of art form.

Looking back, we probably got what we deserved. *

Back to top