Apresidential debate in any format (one-on-one, or all candidates in attendance) is incomplete without an exchange of ideas on foreign policy. Domestic issues are important in the life of the nation and are of paramount interest to the people. Foreign policy, however, takes the national conversation one step further, away from insular matters towards the global stage where the Philippines interacts with the world, where the sovereign government advances and protects the national interest.

A debate on foreign relations will engage a great number of citizens interested in the way the administration makes policy on diplomacy, trade and workers protection and how it carries out its decisions around the world. A bigger audience is made up of the foreign governments and institutions represented here by their embassies, consulates and international agencies.

In such a debate, the voters would know the candidates’ grasp of foreign policy and their literacy in the intricate issues affecting Filipinos and the country abroad. A Filipino president after all is the Ambassador in Chief and the representative of 80 (or is it 90?) million Filipinos when he travels abroad. We deserve a national executive who could represent us with great dignity and with the sophistication and wisdom of a statesman, or something close to that stature.

We also would wish to know if the candidate has any bold program to protect the good of more than eight million Filipino overseas workers, if he has new ideas to promote Philippine businesses and skills in the major capitals. How would Manila increase its competitiveness in the global trade under his watch?

Foreign policy is not an arcane subject but a tool for the national purpose that translates into daily actions and decisions for the defense of Filipino nationals working or living on foreign soil, for strengthening bilateral and regional relations that ensure national security or burnishing the national image to forge closer friendships or winning investments to build jobs ands businesses.

Listening to the presidential aspirants on foreign policy could help shape our decision on election day. We could gain deep insights on how they would conduct foreign policy intelligently or, heaven help us, be treated to light moments like when the Republican Party nominee for vice president remarked during a debate she was not a stranger to foreign policy because her home state, Alaska, is very close geographically to Russia.

The foreign service

An important segment of the debate is the candidates’ appreciation of our foreign office, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and what support they would give “Roxas Boulevard” (it used to be “Padre Faura” because that was where the DFA’s building was) to boost its programs for the OFWs, diplomacy, strengthening diplomatic and security ties, cultural exchange and global competitiveness.

The DFA is the country’s link to the world, serving on the frontline where Filipino interests compete with foreign causes for support or resources. Our career diplomats are the principal lobbyists for domestic programs in the major capitals, international forums and organizations like the United Nations, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

A major Cabinet department that could be said to be the most professional and respected is also one of the least funded in the government. It carries out its programs here and abroad with a crutch budget of P12.39 billion. That outlay is less than one percent of the P1.536 trillion signed by President Gloria Arroyo for fiscal year 2010. Foreign Minister Alberto G. Romulo, at the budget hearing last year, asked for P19 billion to carry out the department’s global responsibilities, which include the protection of more than eight million overseas Filipino workers and professionals. He got a pittance instead.

With a staff of 1,998 career personnel, a significant number working in the home office and provincial consular branches, the DFA’s strength is stretched thin in the 80 countries where it provides OFWs legal defense, shelter and counseling, together with the Department of Labor and Employment and attached agencies. Apart from traditional diplomatic work and efforts to boost Philippine businesses, the DFA provides backstop work for the President and visiting missions. It is also often harnessed and harassed by globe-running politicians for extraneous services that border on the personal and the frivolous.

It would be interesting to know how the nine men and the lone lady eyeing the presidential palace view the role of the foreign office in the national and global spheres, whether they are content with the status quo at the department or have plans to raise its importance under their administration. If foreign policy matters in their vision, would this be reflected in the way their presidency will strengthen career service, minimize political appointments, reward professionalism, improve embassy chanceries and facilities abroad, raise salaries and benefits, insulate the department from politics and give it a muscular budget commensurate to its increased and increasing duties?