Blas Ople - Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Secretary of Foreign Affairs

In July 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Ople, a member of the political opposition in the Senate, as Secretary of Foreign Affairs in her cabinet. The appointment was with some controversy. Weeks earlier, Arroyo's hand-picked Vice-President Teofisto Guingona had resigned as Foreign Affairs Secretary after voicing disagreement with the plan of the Philippine and United States governments to allow American troops to help combat Islamic terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf as part of the post-9/11 "War on Terror". Ople, who had earlier been a vocal supporter of the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, was perceived to be more amenable to the plan. In addition, left-wing labor activists denounced the appointment of Ople, citing his Marcos-era role in promoting overseas employment of Filipino workers which, they said, had resulted in abuses inflicted on Filipino workers abroad.

During his stint as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ople was at the forefront of the negotiations that led to the deployment of American military forces inside the Philippines, though he insisted that the American troops would not participate in combat missions. Under his watch, the American and Filipino governments signed an agreement that provided immunity to each other's citizens facing charges before international tribunals such as the International Criminal Court. Ople was also a vocal supporter of the Iraq War, and pushed for the deployment of a small Filipino contingent in Iraq. He predicted in November 2003, "Baghdad will be transformed from a symbol of brutal despotism to a new, shining symbol of human freedom. The sacrifices invested in the liberation of Iraq, to which Filipinos made a significant contribution, will be fully vindicated and cherished for all time."