JOSE LUIS YULO JR. served as Slovenia’s honorary consul for more than 18 years. It was a job that came to him after a series of unexpected events.
Seating in the boardroom of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands (CCPI) in Manila, Yulo, who is currently the president of the oldest business chamber in the country, talked fondly on how he became part of the diplomatic community.
His ties to Slovenia can be traced all the way back to 1995, a time when Yulo was the president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
He said the chamber, during that year, was looking to invite foreign speakers to its forums and they came out with the idea of inviting government officials from former communist countries that have become market economies.
“Someone from the PCCI knew that I had some ties with Slovenia and asked if we could invite someone from the country,” Yulo said.
So, they decided to send an invitation to Slovenian Minister of Foreign Economic Relations Dr. Vojka Raubar whom, Yulo said, quickly agreed to come to the country.
“At that time the country wanted to be part of Western Europe and were beginning to look at Asia,” Yulo said.
As part of the visit to the Philippines, Yulo arranged a courtesy call for Dr. Raubar to then President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR).
From what was originally scheduled as a courtesy call that would only last for a few minutes, Yulo said the meeting lasted more than an hour.
“FVR knew everything about Slovenia,” Yulo said in amazement.
During the Malacañang meeting, Dr. Raubar brought out the idea that even if they could not open an embassy in the country in the Philippines, they still would want to have a diplomatic presence by having an honorary consulate in the country.
And then, Dr. Raubar, right then and there, offered the job to Yulo, which President Ramos replied to as a good idea.
Yulo said inside the car after they left Malacañang Dr. Raubar told him that she was serious on her offer.
“So I asked her then what does an honorary consul do? And she said that an honorary consul assists nationals who have encountered trouble, promote business relations, hold cultural exchanges,” Yulo said.
By 1997 Yulo officially started his long tenure as Slovenia’s honorary consul to the Philippines.
Slovenia’s first international visitor
Yulo’s links with Slovenia dates all the way back to his time as president of the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC).
The PITC is a state owned trading company established in 1973. Initially having the mandate to establish trade relations Socialist and Other Centrally Planned Economy Countries, it eventually took the lead in promoting Philippine trade worldwide.
“During FVR’s time, we made counter trades and industrial offsets,” Yulo said whenever the country purchased military equipment.
He explained the Philippines was then exporting garments, processed foods, and even deodorants to countries they were dealing with at that time.
“We were exporting to the communist world. We were dealing with government owned companies,” Yulo said.
Because of his job at PITC, Yulo said he received a telex from Ljubljana, which was, at that time, part of Yugoslavia, to attend the Association of State Trading Organizations (Astro) meeting.
According to Yulo, Astro is an accumulation of state-owned companies that are similar to PITC. He said that at that time, the secretariat was based in Slovenia and the Philippines was the chair of the organization.
“Because of the job, I was traveling to Slovenia every six months,” Yulo said.
But then tensions rose, as Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, which led to the Ten Day War.
“The board called for an emergency meeting in Austria. It was decided then that we would move to either Geneva or Vienna,” Yulo said.
On their four-hour drive from Austria to Ljubljana, Yulo, together with an Indian and a Slovenian ambassador, who were also both part of the Astro board, were listening to the radio.
“The Slovenian ambassador, at one point, told us to keep quiet as he listened intently to what was being said on radio,” Yulo said, then adding the ambassador with a surprised look suddenly told them that they won the war.
Yulo said that upon entering Slovenia, where he saw burning buildings and trucks, along with barbed wires, the car radio blared and announced that the newly independent Slovenia was welcoming its first international visitor from the Philippines.
Inside Slovenia, they went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office. It was his first meeting with Dr. Raubar who was then its deputy minister.
Yulo remembered that during their 30-minute meeting, Dr. Raubar talked about Slovenia winning the war and gaining independence. Not once was the subject about moving Astro’s office to a new address was discussed.
He said that as they walked back to their car after the meeting, they let out a loud chuckle which echoed all around because of the empty streets.
“We had no heart in telling her we were closing down,” Yulo said.
The honorary consul at work
Even as he dealt with a lot of tough and problematic situations, Yulo described his stint as Slovenia’s honorary consul as a fulfilling work.
Yulo said that during his stint, he has bailed people from jail and assisted those who are getting married, with faulty immigration documents, families of murdered individuals and those who succumbed to natural death.
But, at the same time, he also facilitated trade missions, held trade fairs, staged cultural presentations and promoted tourism between the two countries.
Currently, two way trade between the Philippine and Slovenia is at $8 million with export to the Philippines include hand tools, boutique wines, pharmaceutical products, casino equipment and glassware.
“I spent time and fortune. I even hosted some of them in my house. It was fulfilling except for the bad parts,” Yulo said.
Yulo also spoke fondly of Slovenia as a fantastic destination for tourists. He said that Filipinos are now starting to discover the country that has only more than two million in population.
“It is the green piece of Europe. Seventy percent of the country is untouched. The cuisine there is fantastic and the hotels there are not expensive,” Yulo said.
He said that a tourist needs only to spend €150 a day, at the most, to enjoy his trip to Slovenia.
The oldest business chamber
As the CCPI kicks off year long 130th anniversary celebration, the chamber, where Yulo is now currently deeply involved, presents its new vision—“History Builds the Future 2030: Five Pillars.”
After the National Historical Commission of the Philippines recognized the chamber and its building as a Landmark Heritage Building and Business Institution, the CCPI is repositioning itself as the chamber of history.
The five pillars, composed of education, the government, infrastructure and environment, Philippine businesses and the economy, is a guiding vision for the country to leapfrog and catch up with its Asean neighbors. It will be presented to incoming President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Yulo explained that even with the Philippine economy growing by six percent annually, the country still remain behind Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Drawing a chart comparing Malaysia’s GDP per capita and purchasing power parity with that of the Philippines, Yulo demonstrated how far behind the Philippines is from its neighbors despite the gains of the current administration.
“There is still a failure of governance. The love for country is also not yet instilled,” Yulo said, while also citing other factors, including job-skills mismatch and criminality.
In their five pillars, Yulo said the chamber envisions Filipinos having access to the best education and learning and using a third language correctly outside of Filipino and English. He also sees every Filipino being one of the best in at least one profession.
He also looks at the government hiring the best and brightest minds in the country while citing Singapore as a model.
Then he sees infrastructure being developed specifically mentioning Edsa becoming a model with specific bus deployment schedules and construction of indented roads, with establishments providing necessary amenities for travelers serving as bus stops.
He said they will also push for responsible mining with incentives for companies establishing operations in the country that will use minerals to produce end products for the local and international markets.
Yulo also said that Philippine brands must be competitive in the country and at the same time penetrate the world market.
Last, he said tourism destinations in the country must have a master plan and protected. He mentioned both Baguio and Boracay as tourism destinations, which were not taken cared properly.
Yulo said the CCPI sees Duterte as a no-nonsense president who will follow the rule of law and protect sanctity of contracts and instill discipline in the country.
The CCPI traces its roots to 1886 when Queen Regent Maria Cristina issued a Royal Decree for its creation.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano