Foreign Service InstituteMajor AccomplishmentsJanuary - December 2016

Carlos P. Romulo School of Diplomacy

The Carlos P. Romulo School of Diplomacy (CPRSD) of the Foreign Service Institute (FSIL

committed to the improvement and personal growth of the Foreign Service Corps,

endeavors to upgrade and enhance the competence of its participants, to be on par with

international standards in the fields of diplomacy, global affairs, foreign policy, language,

personnel management efficiency and professional technical skills. The Institute's CPRSD

aims to build strong linkages with other foreign service and e-Iearning training

institutions, as well as with other local and international academic institutions. Its

training programs are widely grouped into seven (7) major areas of study, namely, the

Core Programs, Technical and Professional Programs, Foreign Language Programs, Special

Programs, Scholarship Programs, International Affairs and E-Iearning Programs, and the

Training Evaluation Program. The training programs are designed to develop skills

needed at each level of the career foreign service officers and staff officers, at the same

time providing the necessary foundation for them to progressively move forward.

As part of CPRSD's continuous upgrading and expansion of its various training programs,

it envisions to establish linkages with other international training institutions, thus,

fostering further diplomatic cooperation among its counterparts. For FY2016, FSI hosted

five (5) officials from the Strategic Studies and Training Department of the Ministry of the

Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Union of Myanmar in a week-long institutional support

program on "Establishing a Foreign Service Academy for Myanmar" from 3 to 7 October

2016. Another distinct activity is the Training Program for Timor Leste Diplomats. FSI, in

cooperation with the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste's Institute of Diplomatic Studies

(IDS), conducted a training program for diplomats and staff of the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs and Cooperation (MFAC) on 12-16 December 2016. The five-day training touched

on various topics like Protocol and Ceremonials, International Relations and Diplomacy,

Public Diplomacy and Nation-branding.

Another program was the Course on Fundamentals of Central Banking, a joint project of

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Foreign Service Institute and the Department of Foreign

Affairs, held on 22-24 February 2016. It is a capacity-building seminar on central banking

principles and quantitative analysis for members of the Pacific Islands Forum and other

Asian countries under the Memorandum of Agreement between the Foreign Service

Institute and the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Notably, FSI, in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs, conducted the Basic

Apprenticeship Program on Consular Practice last 16-24 November 2016 in four (4)

Foreign Service posts, namely, Philippine Embassies (PE) in Abu Dhabi and Singapore, and

Philippine Consulates General in Dubai and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

(SAR). The program provided an opportunity for the FSO cadets to learn, through

observation and practical experience on how to handle and perform basic tasks in

conducting consular and Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) services at post. The Diplomat's

Hour, through video conference, is also held as part of the module on Diplomatic and

Consular Practice and Skills: Consular Diplomacy and Practice, of the Foreign Service

Officers Cadetship Course.

Gender Sensitivity Training sessions are also included in FSI's course modules. The

training aims to sensitize personnel of the DFA and develop their professional and

personal competencies in identifying and addressing issues involving gender that arise in

the course of their work. It also aims to equip them with basic knowledge in dealing with

recurring issues such as sexual harassment. An Orientation on the Rights of Persons With

Disabilities (PWDs) was organized for the supervisors whose staff include PWDs. The aim

of the program is to orient non-PWDs, particularly supervising personnel, on the rights of

staff categorized as PWDs. It is of utmost importance that proper assistance be given to

PWDs to enable them to function as normally as any other person.

In summary, CPRSD for FY 2016, was able to prepare, organize and implement sixty-one

(61) training programs accomplished, achieving one hundred percent (100%) of the target

number of training programs under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) of the

government. In addition to the 61 accomplished training programs, the CPRSD also

responded to requests from other government agencies, including the DFA, to organize

and implement for them some demand-driven courses. Under this category FSI has

accomplished an additional forty-five (45) programs, which brings to a total of one

hundred six (106) training programs.

The Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (CIRSS)

CIRSS is committed to support the research needs of the Department of Foreign Affairs

(DFA) and to serve as the institutional consultant of the Department on matters related

to foreign policies and programs as well as development management, planning, review

and evaluation processes in the Department.

CIRSSreceived recognition as one of Asia-Pacific's top think tanks (66th) in 2015 and 67th

in the top 100 thinks tanks in Asia in 2016.1 The CIRSS is committed to support the

Department of Foreign Affairs' research needs in aid of the formulation, review anddissemination of Philippine foreign policy. The Center's research program is divided into

geographical areas such as Southeast Asia/Oceania; Northeast Asia; Americas; Europe,

1 SeeJames G. McGann's 2016 Global Go-To-Think Tank Index Report, University of Pennsylvania. Availableathttp://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?articie=101l&context=think_tanks&utm_source=CSIS+AII&utm_campaign=SacS2383be-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017 _01_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-SacS2383be-138489741

Russia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); South and West Asia; and

Africa; traditional security studies, non-traditional security issues, International

Organizations and the International Economy; and the ASEAN.

In 2016, the Center was able to forge a number of partnerships with academic and

government institutions on track 1.5 and track 2 initiatives such as the convening of the

Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) Study Group on Marine

Environment Protection, holding of the Heneral Luna Lecture Series with the National

Defense College of the Philippines and the Office of Strategic Studies and Strategic

Management of the AFP; the convening of a Maritime Governance Experts Dialogue with

the Philippine Navy; organizing a conference on "Maritime Challenges in the Asia-Pacific"

with the Konard Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), and organizing the Second Manila Conference

on the South China Sea with Griffith Asia Institute-Griffith University in Australia and the

ASEAN Studies Center-New Era University. The Center, in 2017, is gearing towards

actively participating in Track 1.5 and Track 2 activities.

The lecture series organized by the Center under its Mangrove Forum on International

Relations and the Mabini Dialogue Series were well-received and attracted participants

from other government institution such as the Senate of the Philippines, the AFP, the

Philippine Navy, DND, and from the academe - La Salle St. Benilde, Marawi State

University, Far Eastern University, UST, and the University of the Philippines. CIRSS has

been able to invite prominent scholars and practitioners in the Mangrove Forum such as

Ambassador Ong Ken Yong, former ASEAN Secretary General, Dr. Alice Ba of the

University of Delaware, Dr. Dan Steinbock, a noted analyst, prominent Women in the

Foreign Service - former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, first Woman Secretary of

Foreign Affairs, Delia Albert; and former Philippine representative to the ASEAN

Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, Ambassador Rosario Manalo. Thus far,

the Center can be said to be slowly becoming a center of learning through its lecture

series. The Center conducted four (4) Mangrove Forum on International Relations Series

and eighteen (18) Mabini Dialogue Series.

CIRSSpublication target for 2016 was to produce twelve (12) Commentaries and four (4)

Insights. The Center was able to meet the target. It has produced seventeen (17)

Commentaries and four (4) Insights. These are online publications and hence available to

the public. Sharing ASEAN and the West Philippine Sea Update published every quarter

served as CIRSS' public diplomacy initiatives to contribute to raising public's awareness

on ASEAN and maritime issues particularly on the West Philippine Sea. These were

disseminated to the various public libraries, academic institutions, and to the DFA's

Foreign Service Posts (FSPs). CIRSSalso actively provided research support to the DFA on

critical issues such as the West Philippine Sea, Asia-Pacific regional security, global and

regional trade issues, the UN, et.al. ClRSShas also supported the DFA's public diplomacy

efforts on ASEAN.

Program for Differently-Abled Persons and Gender and Development

CIRSS,through its Mabini Dialogue Lecture Series, featured the "Voting Rights of Persons

with Disabilities." The speaker was Mr. John Paul Cruz, Senior Analyst and Research

Fellow of the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communications Technology

(G3ICT). The Institute's Language Programs Section provided the sign language

interpretation for PWD participants.

ClRSS has started to mainstream gender into the Center's research output and has

actively participated in the Gender Sensitivity Training for the DFA. Its lecture series

program featured three gender-related topics. For the Mangrove Forum Series, the

Center organized the "Women Leaders in the Philippine Foreign Service Corps" and for

the Mabini Dialogue Series the "Marriage Immigration and Multicultural Families: Public

Policies and their Implications for the Philippines and South Korea" and on "Navigating

Sexuality and Safety: HIV Risks and Vulnerabilities of OFWs Engaging in Male-to-Male

Sex."

Throughout 2016, the Center has been in full support of the DFA's various programs,

particularly in providing vital inputs in the Department's Strategic Plan for 2016-2022.