A candid interview with Ambassador Domingo L. Siazon, Jr.

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How would you assess the current state of Philippine-Japan relations?

Very good! We have no serious problems. The only political issue there is, right now maybe, is the claim of some comfort women.

Given the country's negative publicity because of the Abu Sayyaf and kidnap-for-ransom gangs, how would you assess the image of the Philippines and the Filipino in Japan?

The Abu Sayyaf issue is not really negative. It is seen as a determined commitment by the President to combat terrorism, particularly those who have foreign links like the Abu Sayyaf. The Japanese now understands how serious the situation is because of the arrests in Singapore and Malaysia. Some people are really plotting to stage terrorist attacks against the US and US-owned corporations. So I think they (the Japanese) have a better understanding of the situation.

Now, the kidnapping, of course, is a cause for concern. But I guess once the Abu Sayyaf is neutralized, you'll have less kidnapping news coming out of the Philippines. Generally, the high profile kidnapping cases were related to the Abu Sayyaf.

Sir, there is this travel advisory cautioning Japanese nationals about the Philippines.

Yeah, because of the kidnapping of Chinese-Filipinos. We're still working on that. The whole of Luzon is Alert 1. But for Alert 1, pwedeng pumunta. Alert 2 ay hindi pwede ang group tour. Metro Manila is 2. Mindanao and Abu Sayyaf (areas) like Basilan is, of course, Alert 3.

But that has had no major impact because the Japanese have stopped traveling after the September 11 attacks. Ang passport issuance ay bumagsak ng 30%.

As we all know, there are so many overstaying Filipinos in Japan. Do you have any particular message for them?

Basta they have to keep within the law. Dito naman sa Hapon, kung minsan kahit wala kang visa, huwag ka lang mangugulo eh.

Pero di ba binago na nila ang batas, sir?

Dito naman, depende rin sa pakikisama mo eh. Basta huwag lang mangugulo -- mag lasing, sa drugs at saka iyong fake phone cards, at saka iyong mga nanggugulo ng mga Japanese women. Dito okay. Alam naman nila (Japanese government) eh. Maski sa Akabane alam naman nila. Sa America isusumbong ka nila. (Dito) huwag ka lang magka-serious offense.

Pero wala po talaga tayong long term solution diyan ano, except massive repatriation.

Well, cycle naman iyan eh. Di ba, 1903, Hapon ang nagpupunta sa atin. In 1938, out of 16 million population, there were 29,000 Japanese. Now you take the percentages... oh, pareho ngayon sa atin. Out of 126 million Japanese, there are about 200,000 Filipinos. Tingnan mo ang ratios mo kung hindi halos pareho.

Magandang point iyon, sir, ah. (laughing)

So okay lang, di ba? Cycle lang, di ba? Cylce iyan, historically. Di ba sila nagma-migrate din dati sa Brazil, sa Peru. Pero ngayon, nang sumikat sila, balik naman ngayon. Kung saan iyong water pressure mataas....

What is your stand on absentee voting?

Yeah, we are going to have a meeting here on the 10th, and we invited the leaders (of the Filipino communities). We would like to find out their views and then sa 24th, sina Sen. (Ed) Angara and a lot of senators will be coming. We hope some members of Congress will join to have an exchange of views with Filipino community leaders ? dito from 4 pm on the 24th.

But personally, sir, do you think it's feasible to have absentee voting?

It depends kung anong batas ang gagawin nila. But I think, personally, national election lang. Hindi pwedeng local. Masyadong madugo iyon. Pati mayor eh... (laughs). Kailangan national lang ? president, vice president, senators. Pero kung pati congressman, mahirap. Unang una iyong residency requirement? saan ka buboto?

What do you consider as the most pressing concern or problem of the Filipinos here in Japan?

Siyempre iyong isyu ng visa, iyong mga walang visa. At saka siguro iyong health care problem.

We don't have a systematic approach to address....

Wala ngang pera eh. Kung magbabayad kayo. Eh iyong Japanese government, pinagbabayad nga iyong salaryman ng 30%. We should get away from the concept na wala kang inenvest ? walang kang tinanim, mag-aani ka. Ganoon eh. Lahat libre. Eh wala ka ngang tax eh.

Iyong mga problema related to overstaying Filipinos, malaking nakukuhang time ng ating consular services, di po ba?

Oo, ang dami daming tao sa consular. Iyong mga problema diyan kung minsan ay iyong mga nagaaway na mag-asawa. Kasi maski pati away nila, sa amin pa. Akala nila pwede pa kaming makialam. Mahirap din iyan. Kasi iyong concept ng Pilipino, para bang malaking pamilya, maski iyong embassy ay kasali. Ang problema ko nga eh, lahat ng party ay iniimbita ako. We cannot have all the time for that. Kung ganoon ay wala na akong time para makipag-deal sa mga Hapon.

Sir, ano po iyong thrust ng iyong administration and how would you like to be remembered as ambassador after your stint here?

Well, you know, ang actual thrust will depend on the situation at the time. Sa akin, it's really economic cooperation. Iyon ang pinaka importante. Kasi this is the biggest economy in East Asia. They are the second largest market for us sa exports -- normally around 15% a year of our export goes to Japan. But not only that, they are also our investment source plus tourism source. And you see a very big market for Philippine human resources.

Kasi sa atin ang (population) growth rate ay 2.2 ? 2.3%, dito pabagsak eh. By 2006, their population will peak. By 2100, their population will only be 60 million. Siguro, ang Philippines, kung ilang daang milyon na. (laughs) Imagine, we were only 16 million in 1938, ngayon, mga 76 million. Ewan ko nga kung saan ilalagay ang lahat ng mga Pilipino. Baka kailangan mong i-reclame ang buong South China Sea. (laughs) Kaya sabi ko, we'll still conquer the world.

Iyong mga Pilipina ritong nagaasawa ng Hapon, ang daming anak. Taga-tatlo, apat... Sila ang savior ng....baka bigyan sila ng medalya ng Japanese...

Sa tingin niyo, sir, ano kaya ang magiging effect noon?

Ang daming Filipino-Japanese, kasi 5,000 to 7,000 couples a year. Eh times 3! Eh di 21,000 iyon!

Kaya lang ang divorce rate, ang taas, di ba?

Pero mataas na rin ang sa Japan eh. Kaya lang, pagka anak ng Pilipino, Pilipino rin, kaya ang Filipino nationals dumadami.

Speaking about the embassy's services, we have heard some complaints about the quality of service that the embassy offers.

Lagi namang may complaint eh. Nakakita ka na ba ng baseball na perfect iyong batter? Walang system na perfect. We can only try to keep improving. Sabihin mo, may masungit diyan. Totoo iyon. Ako, sabi ko naman, may kantang, "sapagka't kami'y tao lamang."

Kasi iyong tao diyan, maghapon iyon eh. Mga bandang alas dos, sa dami ng nakakausap at nagtatanong, pati iyong binabasa nilang application ay hindi pa maintindihan, siyempre mapapanis iyon. Pero, I mean, generally, nakikita ko iyong reports eh. Sa dami ng natutulungang tao, it's okay. Depende na lang kung mayroon nangangwarta. Ibang usapan iyon.

Mayroon din kaming training sa February 11, isang workshop at mayroong trainor just to talk to our consular staff on how to deal with people. We hired somebody, isang professional, Pilipino rin. We do that to upgrade our skills and to improve the system. But you cannot find a perfect system. Kung hindi, walang ng langit, di ba? Kaya may langit eh. (laughs) *

To be continued next issue