Coñejos’ appointment as envoy to UN slammed

An alliance of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) urged Malacaňang on Tuesday to withdraw the recent appointment of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Coñejos Jr. as ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, saying he does not deserve the post.

Migrante International said it was more than enough that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led the Philippines’ campaign to help Coñejos in his campaign for the No. 2 position of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). But Mrs. Arroyo’s appointment of Coñejos as envoy to the UN as a “face-saving measure" is simply too much, said Migrante chairperson Gary Martinez in a statement. “It isn’t a surprise for us if Mrs. Arroyo, in her desperation to reward Conejos for his exemplary slave-trading skills as chairperson of the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development held in Manila last year, is determined to give Conejos the juicy UN post even if this would mean violating constitutional provisions on diplomatic appointments," he said. President Arroyo nominated Coñejos earlier this year for the post of deputy director general in the Geneva-based IOM. [See: Arroyo nominates Coñejos to global migration body] The post was ultimately won by Laura Thompson, a Costa Rican lawyer. Martinez said Coñejos’ appointment to the UN would not even provide any consolation for OFWs. Migrante has constantly accused Coñejos of being “snobbish" to the OFW cause. Martinez even said once that Coñejos has been known to evade their inquiries and refuse to appear in their meetings. Competent, dedicated But Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Ed Malaya defended Coňejos and said that the long-time undersecretary of the department’s Migrant Worker’s Affairs office, has been the government’s point person in the protection of the rights and welfare of OFWs for the last four years. “He has served with competence, dedication and hard work," Malaya told GMANews.TV on Tuesday. The DFA also quelled speculations that Coñejos’ appointment to the UN has been invalid since he is not a career officer. According to the DFA, Coñejos’ promotion was valid since majority of the diplomatic and permanent mission (50 percent+1) are headed by career ambassadors, as stipulated under the Foreign Service Act. “The present administration has appointed more career heads of posts, i.e., ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary and consuls general (72.83 percent) than during the Estrada administration (70 percent) and Ramos administration (67 percent)," the DFA said in a statement. “In this administration, the record is clear that there has been strict and ample compliance with the provision of the law," it added. Walking menace Nevertheless, Migrante vowed to oppose Coñejos’ new appointment. “We strongly believe that Coñejos is a walking menace and a threat to the lives and livelihood of migrant workers and their families worldwide and that he does not even deserve even his current position," Martinez said. According to the DFA, since assuming his position as foreign affairs undersecretary for migrant workers affairs in February 2006, Coñejos has worked with the IOM in rescuing migrant workers from conflict-torn areas, including the July 2006 repatriation of more than 6,000 Filipino overseas workers from war-torn Lebanon. Coñejos also coordinated the evacuation of hundreds of Filipinos during the civil disorder in Dili, East Timor in 2006 and the war in Gaza, Palestine in 2009. He also succeeded in securing the release of Filipino workers and seamen held hostage in various parts of the world. He holds a Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University (1980) in Washington DC; a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Manila University (1974); and a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Carlos Seminary (1970). - GMANews.TV