DUBAI: Former Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis, who had received various commendations during his postings in the Gulf and served at the pleasure of seven presidents back home, wants another shot at public service, this time, for the eighth and for peace in strife-ridden Mindanao.
“I am with a group of likeminded retired government officials involved in the peace process,” Seguis, who retired in June this year, told The Filipino Times in a Facebook private message interview from Manila.
“My preference is Mindanao or whichever dispute the group would be engaged.”
Limelight shone on the 76-year-old Seguis in 2004 when he successfully negotiated the release of two overseas Filipino workers kidnapped by rebel groups in Iraq during the war against Saddam Hussein. This earned him a presidential citation.
Seguis said there are “officials and politicians urging me to return to government service but I keep myself below the radar so to speak.”
“I have not approached anyone of them to seek employment. I am ready to serve under the Duterte Administration being a Mindanaoan myself (but) only if asked,” Seguis said.
Seguis rose through the ranks at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) “by plain personal merits, no political backers” having successfully passed the required government examinations for the job, such as Foreign Service Staff Officers And Foreign Service Officers Examinations.
“I would like to think that dedication and loyalty to duty, unselfish commitment to do the job assigned to me and honesty are my legacies in government service,” he said.
Seguis served the longest number of years of service in the Middle East. In 2006, he was decorated the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu (Gold Distinction), the highest presidential award bestowed on government officials and employees during the 2006 Lebanese crisis.
He also led the Team Damascus composed of DFA, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in the repatriation of over 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Beirut during the 2006 Lebanese Crisis.
Likewise, he actively participated in the mandatory repatriation of OFWs during the 2010 Libya Revolution and the ongoing Syria Crisis. In 2010, the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Grand Cross (Bayani) was conferred on him by then Pres. Benigno Aquino, Jr. In that same year, he was also bestowed the Gat Apolinario Mabini Award in the field of peace and social justice.
Seguis got on board DFA during the term of the late Pres. Diosdado Macapagal.
