She opted to be ‘home’

(Published in Zamboanga Today on January 21, 2008.)

It was such a big issue that United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney missed the annual ‘vin d’honneur’ that Malacañang Palace hosted for all diplomats and dignitaries in the international community officially residing within the Philippines. Calls came through Zamboanga Today, which covered the recent visit of the American envoy, and having witnessed her aura with the Zamboangueños that day, one can simply conclude that La Hija de Zamboanga simply opted to be ‘home’ with her hermanos y hermanas.

The lady envoy accompanied US Senators Daniel Inouye and Theodore Stevens, lead authorities in the US Senate’s Sub-Committee on Defense Appropriations, and along with Mayor Celso Lobregat, ‘hosted’ the senatorial visit not just to the city but to the American forces stationed as well in Camp Navarro.

Some argue that the dinner was a tradition, hence, Ms. Kenney could not have missed that. Some also say that her absence was intentional and timely because of the US Government’s advice to all its citizens to board any Philippine air carrier in traveling to and from the country owing to the downgrading in aviation safety to a Category 2 rating by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

It was in a warden message dated January 15, 2008 posted on its Web site, that the US Embassy in Manila stated: “Whenever possible, Americans traveling to and from the Philippines should fly to their destinations on international carriers from countries whose civil aviation safety standards for the oversight of their air carrier operations are under the Federal Aviation Administration’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program.”

The US FAA’s revision from Category 1 to Category 2 was explicitly due to “serious concerns” on the Philippine Air Transportation Office’s “oversight of air carrier operations.” Under Category 2, the FAA assessed the Philippine Civil Aviation Authority as “not being in compliance” with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards for Philippine air carrier operations. The US Embassy could just have posted that message as a warning to its own citizens—whose lives are its primary concern.

There is hence a great possibility that Ambassador Kenney’s visit to the city with the two Senators was not made to be an excuse to miss the social event. Americans are far from being impulsive in making their schedules, especially her being the highest US official in-country. From all her statements in the past, the US envoy had always said she is happier to be in southern Philippines, and to be in Zamboanga, than elsewhere in the country.

As she moved around last Friday, greeting students, meeting more of the people that cheered her warmly after her jovial ‘Buenos dias’—everyone saw how comfortable she was, and no one can be prouder than the Zamboangueños who eventually realized that, between the glamorous and prestigious halls in Malacañang Palace or the company of all state dignitaries in the diplomatic community including that of our very own President, as against that of the local officials, teachers, and students (most of whom were from the middle to lower economic classes) she was with that day, she opted to be here, with us, in Zamboanga. (Frencie L. Carreon)