Lauro Baja

Lauro L. Baja, Jr. was the Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Republic of the Philippines, and a former Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs. He presented his credentials to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 21 May 2003, replacing former Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco. He was replaced by former Chief Justice Hilario Davide in 2006.

He is a former president of the United Nations Security Council, where he took the chair for one month in 2004. He was also the Chair of the United Nations Committee for Parliamentarians for Global Action in 2004.

Ambassador Lauro Liboon Baja, Jr. was one of the most senior diplomats of the Philippines, with more than 40 years of diplomatic experience that includes a previous assignment in the United Nations. Born in Alangilan, Batangas, on 2 May 1937, Ambassador Baja studied in the Philippines and in England. He holds degrees in jurisprudence and law from the University of the Philippines in Manila. He also took a Foreign Service Course at the Oxford University.^{[citation needed]}

Ambassador Baja began his career in the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila in 1962 as Legal Officer of the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) and later as Legal Officer of the Office of Undersecretary for Administration (OUA). His foreign assignments include; Philippine Embassy in London where he served as Third Secretary and later Second Secretary from 1967 to 1972; Philippine Mission to the UN in New York from 1973 to 1976 he served as First Secretary and later as Career Minister; Philippine Embassy in Brasília as Philippine Ambassador to Brazil from 1986 to 1993; Philippine Embassy in Italy as Philippine Ambassador to Italy in 1997. In 1998, Ambassador Baja was appointed Senior Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs in charge of policy, the second highest position at the Department of Foreign Affairs.^[1]

Ambassador Baja led the Philippine Delegation in a historic two-year membership in the Security Council, the most powerful organ of the United Nations. He served as president of the Security Council, first in June 2004 and again in September 2005. The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and other member-states have acknowledged Ambassador Baja's constructive role in the work of the Security Council during the Philippine's two year term.^{[citation needed]} Between 2003 and 2004, Amb. Baja was Chairman of the United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee (Legal).^[2]

In recognition of his accomplishments, in 2003 he was conferred by President Arroyo the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu, the highest award a member of the Philippine Foreign Service could receive. In 1999, he received the Gawad Mabini Award with the rank of Dakilang Kamanong. The Philippine Jaycees Senate named Ambassador Baja the Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Awardee for his outstanding work in the field of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.^[3]

Baja attended the University of the Philippines, where he was a member of the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity - UP College of Law.

Baja, 71, is a foreign affairs consultant to Manuel Villar. Baja is now Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s special envoy for the interfaith dialogue and debt-for-equity initiatives.

AMBASSADOR LAURO LIBOON BAJA JR.is one of the most senior and respected diplomats of the Philippines, with more than 40 years of diplomatic experience.

Born in Alangilan, Batangas, on 2 May 1937,Ambassador Baja studied in the Philippines and in England. He holds degrees in jurisprudence and law from the University of the Philippines in Manila. He also took a Foreign Service Course at the Oxford University. He is a member of the Philippine bar.

Ambassador Bajabegan his career in the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila in 1962 as Legal Officer of the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) and later became the Chief of the Treaties Division of the OLA.

His first foreign assignment was in London where he served as Third Secretary and later Second Secretary at the Philippine Embassy from 1967 to 1972. He then served as First Secretary and later as Career Minister at the Philippine Mission to the UN in New York from 1972 to 1976.

Upon his return to the Philippines, Ambassador Baja served as Executive Director of the Office of United Nations and Other International Organizations (UNIO) from 1977 to 1979 and Chief Coordinator and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1980 to 1985. In 1986, President Corazon Aquino named him Philippine Ambassador to Brazil. He served at the Philippine Embassy in Brasilia from 1986 to 1993. At the end of his term, he was awarded the Ordem de Gran Cruz de Rio Branco (Order of the Grand Cross of Rio Branco) by the Brazilian Government. Ambassador Baja returned to Manila in 1993 and was named Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs (ASPAC)—a position he held until 1997 when President Fidel Ramos named him Philippine Ambassador to Italy. In Rome, he received another decoration—the Ufficiale nell Ordine’ Al Merito Republica Italiana (Official Order of Merit) from the Italian government.

In 1998, Ambassador Baja was appointed Senior Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs in charge of policy, the second highest position at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Baja’s many accomplishments during his term as Senior Undersecretary include the Manila Declaration which established the ASEAN plus three with China, Japan and South Korea.; the ASEAN Declaration Against Terrorism; the Trilateral Agreement among the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia on the Exchange of Information and Establishment of Communications Procedure to Combat Terrorism; and the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. Ambassador Baja is also credited with initiating and establishing Foreign Ministry Consultations with Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Poland,Hungary, Romania, Pakistan, Egypt and Iran.

He also represented the Philippines in various meetings and conferences of the United Nations and other international and regional organizations as head or member of the Philippine delegation.

In 2003, in recognition of his accomplishments, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo conferred on Ambassador Baja the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu, the highest award a member of the Philippine Foreign Service could receive. In 1999, he received the Gawad Mabini Award with the rank of Dakilang Kamanong, the highest award by the Department of Foreign Affairs from President Joseph Estrada.

In 2004, Ambassador Baja received the Carlos P. Romulo United Nations Award from the United Nations Association of the Philippines “outstanding performance and contribution to nation-building which resembles the life of General Carlos P. Romulo as a diplomat.”

He also received the “Dangal ng Batangan” award as the most outstanding son of Batangas in 2004. He was also named “Outstanding Alphan for 2003” by his University of the Philippines College of Law fraternity, the Alpha Phi Beta. He was the outstanding alumnus of Batangas High School class 1954, which celebrated their golden anniversary last year. Because of his vast diplomatic experience, Ambassador Baja was chosen by President Arroyo to represent the Philippines in the UN and oversee Manila’s participation as a non permanent member of the Security Council. Shortly after he assumed his post as Permanent Representative, Ambassador Baja was elected chairman of the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the 58th UN General Assembly, one of the main committees of the Assembly.

Ambassador Baja engineered the election of the Philippines to the Security Council with a massive vote of 179 out of 181 members of the United Nations present and voting. In June 2004 he presided over the Security Council and shepherded the unanimous adoption of the landmark Security Council resolution 1546, which established the political process in Iraq.

He received unanimous recognition of the Secretary General and members of the Security Council for his “outstanding efforts in bringing back unity in the Council and returning the United Nations to the center of multilateral diplomacy”. In September 2005, he again presided over the Security Council and organized the Security Council Summit in which President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo became the first woman leader to do so.

He chaired the 751 Sanctions Committee on Somalia which earned him the accolade of Secretary General Kofi Annan for his “exceptional” and “able chairmanship” and was Vice- Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Vice Chairman of the 1540 Committee Against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction to non-state actors. Ambassador Baja was also Chairman of Security Council Resolution 1566 group which is tasked to suggest practical measures to counter terrorism other than those related to Taliban and Al Qaeda and to study the possibility of establishing an international fund for the victims of terrorist acts.

On December 6, 2005, Amb. Baja received The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award for Bilateral and Multilateral Diplomacy. He was cited for “his outstanding work in the filed of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy through the years which have helped give the proper forum and attention to national and global concern and issue to make the world a better place to live in”. On June 24, 2006, Amb. Baja received the University of the Philippines Alumni Association UPAA President’s award for his outstanding work in diplomacy. Recently, Ambassador Baja engineered the Philippines topping the election to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Philippines received 188 votes out of 192 member states, where 3 abstained and 1 stray ballot. This is the first time that the Philippines topped an election to a major organ of the United Nations.

Ambassador Baja was also successful in having the Philippines elected to the Human Rights Council, despite criticisms from non-governmental organizations about human rights in the country. He is currently Vice-President of the General Assembly and has been designated Acting President of the 61st United Nations General Assembly. He has successfully advocated Philippine initiatives in the United Nations on international migration and development; interfaith cooperation for peace; debt conversion into Millennium Development Goals projects; resolution on assistance to Guimaras; securing observer status for Asean, etc., for which he received commendation from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Speaker Jose De Venecia and Secretary Alberto Romulo. More recently, Ambassador Baja served as foreign affairs consultant of Senate President Manuel Villar and of the Senate of the Philippines in 2008 and 2009. He also taught International Diplomacy at the Far Eastern University Law School and the De La Salle Graduate School of Business.

'LIFE WORK AND ACHIEVEMENTS'

Ambassador Lauro L. Baja, Jr. is a multi-awarded career Philippine diplomat and served the country for forty five years in various consular and diplomatic assignments from 1962 to 2007.

As former ambassador to Brazil and Italy, he was conferred the highest awards given by the countries to ambassadors upon conclusion of their assignments.

As former Senior Undersecretary for Policy of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Baja drafted and negotiated the Asean Plus Three Process. He also drafted and negotiated the now often cited Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. He established political consultation mechanisms between the Philippines and over a dozen countries from various regions which govern bilateral relations between them. He was a member of the Philippine Delegation to the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea which secured for the Philippine rights of archipelagic states.

As a former Permanent Representative of the Philippinesto the United Nations in New York, Amb.Baja engineered the election of the Philippinesto the UN Security Council. As President of the United Nations Council in June 2004, he steered the unanimous adaption of resolution 1546 which established the political framework in Iraq. The UN Security General Kofi Annan lauded the Philippines for “ bringing back unity in the Security Council and multilateralism to the core of the United Nations”. As President of the Council in September 2005, Amb. Baja arranged a diplomat summit meeting of the Council, only the third summit meeting in its history. He was also cited for enabling Non-Government Organizations to participate in open formal meetings of the Security Council when issues being discussed are relevant to the missions of the NGO’s. Amb. Baja was also Chairman of the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the United Nations General Assembly in 2003. In 2006, he engineered efforts of the Philippines that led to the election as a topnotcher to ECOSOC, the first time the Philippines achieved such success in a major organ of the UN.

Aside from the TOFIL award for bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, Amb. Baja was also conferred the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu and the Gawad Mabini with the rank of Dakilang Kamanong, the highest awards given by the Philippines to its diplomats. The DFA also conferred on him the Distinguished Service award.

Amb. Baja is also a recipient of the UNAP (United Nations Association of thePhilippines) Carlos P. Romulo award for diplomacy and the UPAA (UP Alumni Association) Special Presidential award for International Relations. He was awarded the Most Outstanding Alumni of theBatangas High Schoolin 2004 and Most Outstanding Alpha Phi Beta, a UP law fraternity, also in the same year. In 2007, he was conferred the Degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, by the Philippine Women's University for his outstanding service in diplomacy and in international relations for the Philippines.

Reactions

• Migrante International per chair Connie Bragas-Regalado asked the Arroyo administration for a thorough probe into Baja’s involvement in maltreating Baoanan: “This modus operandi of our erring diplomatic officials trafficking Filipinos so they may take them as slaves has got to stop. Baja’s case would be a litmus test for the Philippines that recently won the vice-presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council. We challenge the newly elected Vice President to the UNHRC Erlinda Basilio to take the lead in investigating the charges against the former UN Security Council President and to ensure that no white wash takes place, if indeed the Philippines is bent on upholding human rights in the UN body." She noted that on 2007, a San Francisco Philippine Consulate consul's mother pleaded guilty of exploiting a Filipina and paid her $ 78,000 in back wages.^[4]

• Center for Migrant Workers' Ellene Sana stated the case "shows the need for greater scrutiny of how Filipino domestic helpers are treated by members of the country’s diplomatic corps, civil society leaders."

• Hong Kong-based Filipino Community Services and Information Network (Filcomsin)'s Edna Aquino said that “the Bajas defensively divert the blame on their domestic worker by questioning and putting motives on leaving her employment after three months; the minimum wage for a household domestic worker based on Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Directive of January 2007 is $400; Even by Philippine standards, this [$200] (paid by Baja) is already quite exploitative; Baja and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) did not consult the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)."^[5]

• Jinggoy Estrada, on July 7, 2008 defended Baja and was skeptical of the charges but said he would call for a Senate inquiry per resolution "to look into whether the domestic staff of Philippine diplomats overseas were compensated properly and treated humanely; The lowest salary of a domestic helper who goes abroad is $400 a month and we have cases where some are paid only half of their contracted salary when they reach their employer abroad.”

• Edgardo Angara also defended Baja: “Ambassador Baja is a brilliant diplomat. I hope we do not give this case that kind of publicity because the case is not that extraordinary."

• Gabriela party-list Rep. Liza Maza, main author of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, said Baja may be liable for qualified trafficking under Philippine law if Baoanan pursued the case in a Philippine court: “It is disturbing that a Philippine ambassador, no less than the head of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and a former president of the UN Security Council, is now being accused of trafficking; (He) should be setting the standards for the compensation and treatment of Filipina workers; The minimum wage in the United States is actually $5.85 per hour. Moreover, the average Filipina domestic worker is paid $300 to $500.” In 2003, the labor department in Metro Manila ruled Norma Baja, Elizabeth Baja and Baja-owned Labaire International Travel, were guilty of non-compliance with labor standards involving former employees who were forced to sign cash vouchers and quit claims in exchange for their salaries amounting to P 298,481.15. In 1995, the Manila Regional Trial Court found Labaire guilty of breach of contract for failure to comply with a travel and tour package to Palawan which had already been partially paid for by the complainants. The Court of Appeals later reversed both decisions.^[6]

Lauro Baja Jr Official Website Former Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary http://www.laurobaja.com

See also

• Philippine Center
• Rafael M. Salas

References

External links

• Senior Diplomat's Slavery Charges
• Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations
• Parliamentarians for Global Action