SIAM PINOY INTERVIEWS H.E. LINGLINGAY F. LACANLALE, PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR TO THAILAND

Posted by Administrator Monday, 21 June 2010 01:13

Ambassador Lacanlale starts her post in Thailand with a strong focus on education. A program to raise awareness of Filipino culture among the children of Filipino families in Thailand, educating ourselves on the many ways we can do to help the Philippines and educating others to encourage business in our country are only some ideas she wants to discuss with the community. Read more into Siam Pinoy’s interview with the new ambassador.

SP: Having played several leadership roles within the Foreign Ministry for many years, what now, is your vision, as you start with your post as Ambassador to Thailand?

Ambassador Lacanlale: First of all, we have foreign policy directives, and foremost, is protection of our nationals. And second, are our other interests, which should also be pursued, such as in areas of investment and trade. But of priority is the protection of our overseas workers, our nationals.

I also would like to continue the attachment of the FilCom (Filipino community) to the Philippines, be it their children, the second generation. That’s why I am thinking of duplicating the summer school program, which the New York Consulate has been holding, and which I copied in Vienna.

We had summer school for children of different levels. We had Filipino language, culture, history and games. All these are to raise awareness that Filipinos have a very rich cultural heritage. And I think that will make them very proud also, of their parents’ home, which is also their home. This is one thing I’d like to pursue.

The other thing is, of course, together with our Commercial Counselor, I’d like to explore areas where we could bring more investments to Philippines, like in the area of renewable energy, which is now what we are getting into in the Philippines. We have technologies already, and perhaps, maybe Thailand also has technologies, which they could share with us and maybe we could encourage Thai businessmen here to invest in these areas. So I’d like to look into that.

But more of these will become more definite as I know more about the possibilities and opportunities.

As to the summer program for Filipino children, baka naman merong may pwedeng mag volunteer (perhaps there will be people willing to volunteer), especially from our teachers. But always, in teaching, as I always tell people, it’s not just a matter of transferring the knowledge, but also how effectively you transfer the knowledge… doing so, so that the children are excited to learn. Learning should be an exciting experience and it should be fun!
And so we would love to have teachers who are very creative; who would be able to keep the attention of the young children. If ever we are to do that, we would have to create modules that would make facts interesting to them, so we hope to get the cooperation of the community. Even if they (the volunteers) are not teachers, but they love children, and they are effective in dealing with children, then I think it will be a good project.

SP: How would you address the many issues relevant to Filipinos in Thailand, among them being the absence of bilateral labor laws between our two countries?

Ambassador Lacanlale: During the time of Ambassador Rodriguez, they were already exploring the possibility of a labor agreement with the Thai government. Mukhang wala pang response from the Thai government (it looks like there is no response yet from the Thai government). And I think that is worth pursuing, lalo na’t lumalaki na yung population ng teachers natin (especially since the population of our Filipino teachers is increasing), and in terms of tenure and in terms of salaries, dapat merong standards (there has to be standards); that they are not discriminated in terms of salaries. And with all things being equal, I think, our teachers are more qualified than other foreigners.

We will see how we can assure them of benefits, one that is just compensation for workers, and one that is comparable to others doing the same job.

SP: What kind of support can organizations and groups expect and hope for from the Embassy, under your leadership?

Ambassador Lacanlale: I’d rather look at it this way… that we are partners. Apart from our usual services, such as the Consular Services, which include issuing documents, like passports, we have our assistance to nationals. Whenever we have Filipinos in distress, we always are there to help them, wherever they are. So those are very basic to our functions.

For the other activities, I’d like to encourage the community’s contribution. We have a lot of experts here. Why don’t we tap our experts to help back home? They can be sharing their knowledge. Like during the time of President Ramos, we had “Balik Scientist”, where those who have been away for a long time went home for a couple of weeks and either taught in the university, or did workshops, just to transfer new ideas and new things they have learned, based on their experience and their training abroad.

Ang focus ko kasi parati (my focus, always), is directed towards the Philippines, so gusto ko i-tap ang Filipino community natin (I want to tap our Filipino community). Of course, they are already helping, but let’s also explore other areas kung saan ang impact ng ating mga projects, ay malalim at mas maraming maaabot (let’s explore areas where the impact of the projects is deep and reaches many people). Projects like that would be very effective, would go a long way, and they would be meaningful.
Of course, we would have our usual social events. That too, is important, because we need to connect. We need to be together. We need to exchange and have just pure fun.

But we are in a position to help and to give back. Our country has many problems, but if it’s not for the education we got, we will not be out here. So in our own small way, we can contribute to giving back a little of ourselves, a little of our resources, a little of our talent, to help those who are in need. And there are a lot of people in need, na walang mga (who don’t have) resources.

SP: Lalo na siguro sa mga teachers, Ma’am (perhaps especially more so among teachers, Ma’am).

Ambassador Lacanlale: Yeah. I think education is a premium. Mataas na ang budget sa education (budget for education is already high in the Philippines). But sa dami kasi ng mga batang napapanganak (because of the many number of Filipino children being born), kulang pa rin ang (there is still a lack of) classroom, kulang ang (a lack of) materials, kulang ang (a lack of) teachers.

And these young children now are going to run in offices later on, they will run businesses and so on. And so, we have to be globally competitive. But equally important, are the parents. They are key, because you don’t surrender or delegate the responsibility for your children. Because when you go home, you have to be able to sustain what the classroom teachers already taught your children. And there’s the presence of peer pressure and the influence from the internet.

Young people nowadays have so many choices, yet sometimes, they are not ready to make those choices. Plus, it is now so highly competitive, so you have to compete with the few spaces that are there.

SP: You mentioned you wish to assist Filipinos with their needs here, as well as make the Filipino community visible and get recognition for its contributions from the local community, and at the same time, help the Philippines. How do you plan to achieve these? Can you give us a few examples?

Ambassador Lacanlale: They can show “Wow, Philippines!” (a series of short movie clips to attract more tourists to visit and experience the Philippines). They can show what we are doing in the energy field. Depende sa audience (it depends on the audience).

It’s an awareness campaign, for others to know what’s in the Philippines. Dapat tayo magtake ng initiative (we should take the initiative). We should all be ambassadors of our country. We should be the best representatives of our country.

We can do many things where we don’t have to shell out money. We can write publishers, to donate books to us, for example (by ‘books’ here, the Ambassador means books about the Philippines and about our Filipino culture, which could be donated to libraries of schools in Thailand as resources, or could be used by volunteer groups who could present about the Philippines and the Filipino culture in schools in Thailand).

We can also do partnerships with Thailand, so it’s not all just Philippines. We should be seen as taking the lead in activities, always looking for opportunities. Like our entrepreneurs, we have many of them. We can also do interviews on television. It’s the exposure and the connecting. If you hear one of our fellow Filipinos has made good or has discovered something, tell it.

Para naman makita nilang marami tayong achievements (so people can see that we have many achievements), na marami tayong maipagmamayabang (that we have many things to be proud of). Marami tayong mase-share (we have many things to share), so we can be proud that these are who the Filipinos are.

SP: How can leaders and community members contribute in helping the embassy achieve its goals for the benefit of the Filipino community?

Ambassador Lacanlale: Well, that depends on what the organizations’ goals are. Perhaps some of the things we talked about (during the interview) are things we can work on. I’m sure, may mga common goals dyan (I’m sure, there are goals common to all). For one, tutulong tayo sa Pilipinas (for one, we will help the Philippines). Here, there are many ways and many areas.

For starters, I’d like to sit down and have a dialogue with them (the different Filipino organizations). Then we can approach which projects we can work on together. What are the resources available? If we don’t have the resources available to do the projects, where can we find these resources? The networks of these organizations may come into play, for instance.

However, the community also needs to recognize the limitations of the Embassy. Sometimes there are demands on the Embassy that we may not be able to give. Our primary responsibility is the protection and safety of the Filipino nationals. Secondary is our bilateral relationship with our host country. So sana, maintindihan din yan ng community (so hopefully, the community will understand these limitations). There are also certain parameters within which we work, and a proper understanding of that will also help our relationship.

I try to strike a balance among the interests of the groups. It is not easy. I may make decisions that will not be acceptable to everybody, but I think, as long as we know what we want to achieve, and you believe that the Embassy does it in good faith, I think we will succeed in doing all we can do.

I will study my options, then I will make my decisions. I will consult the community in areas where I think I need their guidance and their suggestion. But since I also come from a different perspective, I will try to marry both perspectives so we can work together…find common ground.
We also each have to think about what drives us, what is our motivation in pursuing something? The intention must be beyond oneself. It has to be something for the higher good.

SP: As you start your post in Thailand and as we close this interview, what is your message to the Filipino community?

Ambassador Lacanlale: I would like to work with them. I know we can do many things together. I want them to come with an open mind. I do not want them to come with an expectation of what they can get from the Embassy, neither would I come meet them with a preconceived notion of what I expect them to give the Embassy. It is a partnership, and we have certain limitations. But I think, obstacles will always be surmounted when we have the desire to achieve something that is good for others. And we are prepared to be with the community in their projects. We cannot, of course, always get involved with all your projects, but there are projects that we can co-organize when we agree.

SP: Surely, with all these ideas for projects the community and the Philippine Embassy can do together to benefit all members of the Filipino community in Thailand, everyone will be very busy in the months to come. As we move forward in the year 2010 with a renewed sense of hope for democracy and progress in the Philippines under our new president, Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, so do we move ahead here in Thailand, in partnership with our new ambassador, H.E. Ambassador Linglingay F. Lacanlale. Let us be one in the aim to promote all that is positive and great about Filipinos who live and work in Thailand.

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