Locsin to critics: Question cancellation of diplomatic passports before SC

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Wednesday asked the opponents of his move to cancel the courtesy diplomatic passports of former Filipino envoys to question his decision before the Supreme Court (SC).

“I do not subscribe to their argument that it is covered by the law. What they should do is go to the Supreme Court," Locsin said in an interview on ANC.

Locsin said the Department of Affairs (DFA) had already cancelled 172 courtesy diplomatic passports which came after former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, a critic of China’s expansive claims to the South China Sea, was denied entry to Hong Kong and sent back to the Philippines on June 21.

Del Rosario, who was carrying a diplomatic passport at the time, questioned Locsin’s order last week, saying former diplomats like him are entitled to such travel document under Republic Act 8239 (Philippine Passport Act of 1996).

“They are cancelled. I already issued the order. Blue passports, with all their immunities, confined exclusively to serving ambassadors or special envoys or anyone that I decide will be on a special mission for that specific mission," Locsin said.

“What they (should) do is they come to me and I may renew it. I may renew it or not.”
According to the DFA, it had been issuing diplomatic passports to former foreign secretaries and ambassadors since 1993 "as a matter of courtesy."

However, the agency said that the travel document does not confer them with diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention, but only to accord them the usual port courtesies at immigration points abroad.

Locsin said the “proliferation” of courtesy passports devalues the passport of serving ambassadors. He said they are already preparing guidelines with respect to the issuance of courtesy passports.

"I said this kind of incident, in supposing it has been used by an irresponsible person precisely to provoke diplomatic row, I don't want this to happen again. Therefore, I am canceling this courtesy passports and then I'm gonna come up with stricter rules," he said, referring to Del Rosario’s ordeal.

Malacañang earlier said Del Rosario may have misused the diplomatic passport given to him by using it outside of its intended use, which is to represent the government in an official business or mission abroad.

Del Rosario was supposed to attend a shareholders meeting as non-executive director of First Pacific Company Limited on the day he was denied entry to Hong Kong. —NB, GMA News