● For instance, never in the history of the Philippine embassy in Washington D.C. has an ambassador ever received the same kind of adulation, friendship and support from the Filipino American community not only here, but around the US, than the outgoing ambassador. This was more vividly displayed by the spontaneous collective outrage that the community expressed over what they believed to be the “shabby” treatment the President gave the outgoing ambassador. And as far as one can recall, no other Filipino ambassador to Washington has ever received the same kind of sendoff that Mr. del Rosario was given by the Filipino American communities in San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C. and elsewhere.

 ●  The new ambassador must also be able to duplicate Del Rosario’s unconventional way of directly lobbying with members of the US Congress, the State Department and the White House in order to obtain more economic and military assistance to the Philippines. If he succeeded in doing more for the country, it was because he is not a career ambassador who is shackled by diplomatic protocol.

● And if the outgoing ambassador was listened to by official Washington, it was because through his actions and deeds during the past five years, he developed an image of a more ‘credible’ representative of the Philippines and the Filipino people, not a mere propagandist for a government that is currently in the midst of political controversies.

● And last, but not least, the incoming ambassador must recognize the growing power of the Filipino American community and know how to utilize it for the benefit of the Philippines.