Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano denied yesterday that he was using the rescue missions of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to boost his bid for the presidency in 2022.
“Bakit, nandoon ba ako sa video (Why, am I in the video)?“ he asked reporters in an interview late Wednesday evening.
Cayetano said that if he wants to use the rescue missions to serve his political agenda, he should have been the one who led the operations in Kuwait.
A viral video of Philippine embassy staff rescuing distressed OFWs in Kuwait escalated the diplomatic tensions between Kuwait and the Philippines while the two countries were negotiating for the protection of migrant workers.
Cayetano’s handling of the diplomatic row with Kuwait was criticized by some goups; some have even called for his resignation.
The Foreign Affairs chief complained that he shuns media interviews but he still gets negative feedback.
Cayetano, who was the running mate of President Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 polls, maintained that he is just doing his job.
“Let us just do our job. Malay mo, never na akong tatakbo (Who knows if I’ll ever run for public office again)? I’ve never said that I’m running again,” he said.