Dismayado si dating Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Sec. Albert Del Rosario matapos harangin at hindi papasukin ng Immigration authorities nitong araw sa Hong Kong.
Alas-4:20 nitong hapon nang lumapag sa Ninoy Aquino International Terminal 1 ang Cathay Pacific flight CX 919 na sinakyan ni Del Rosario mula Hong Kong.
“The bottom line is I was being harassed,” ani Del Rosario.
Kabilang sa mga sumalubong sa kanya si dating Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales na kamakailan ay hinarang din papasok sa naturang estado.
Magkahalong emosyon daw ang nararamdaman ni Del Rosario sa kanyang sinapit dahil man lang daw nagpaliwanag ang Hong Kong authorities kung bakit hindi siya maaring pumasok ng bansa.
Naniniwala ang dating kalihim na hindi siya maituturing na security threat kahit pa naghain ito ng protesta sa ICC laban sa mga opisyal ng China.
“I’ve always used a diplomatic passport accorded to former Secretaries of Foreign Affair and I never had problems.”
“The honorable Ombudsman was here, she went through the same experience, and the link to that experience which turned out to be consequential to us was the communique that we sent to the International Criminal Court.”
“Before I went to Hong Kong, I wrote the DFA that I was going to be travelling on business and would be using a diplomatic passport. They took that information and took that to the Hong Kong consulate.”
Sa ngayon plano raw ni Del Rosario na silipin ang posibilidad na i-protesta ang umano’y pagkabigo ng Hong Kong authorities na irespeto ang kanyang diplomatic passport.
Malinaw daw kasi na paglabag ito sa nilalaman ng Vienna convention sakaling mapatunayan.
“I’ve also received a suggestion from the DFA that we should look into the possibility of protesting the failure of the Hong Kong authorities to respect the diplomatic passport. And this would be a violation of the Vienna Convention.”
