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Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, Head of
Delegation of the European Commission to the
Philippines, wanted to be a pilot when he
was a teenager. Everything was planned-he
was going to learn to fly and join the air
force but on the day of his medical exam, he
was told that he needed glasses. That
circumstance truly marked the end of his
dream but the soft-spoken ambassador
shrugged it off. “It was a requirement for
the air force which I didn’t have. I joined
the European Commission (EC) instead. And to
be honest, I have not regretted my
decision.”
The ambassador is a graduate of Glasgow University with a degree in
Political Economy. Before joining the EC, he
began his professional career as a teacher
of Political Economy, Economic History and
European Studies at La Trobe University in
Melbourne, Australia and Loughborough
University in England, United Kingdom.
Ambassador MacDonald greatly enjoyed being a teacher. He was always
pleased when students developed a new way of
thinking and analyzing a problem which is
not just according to the textbooks. “To see
students analyzing a complex situation in a
very different way from what they learned in
the beginning of the course gave me
tremendous satisfaction.”
In 1978, Ambassador MacDonald joined the European Commission as Desk
Officer in the Directorate General for
Development. In this position, he dealt with
Southeast Asian countries and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Seven years later, he was posted in Bangkok,
Thailand and that was when he started
working closely with the Philippines prior
to his five-year posting in the country in
1990 when the EC Delegation opened its
office here. “From Thailand, I would go to
the Philippines once every two or three
months. If anything, it was closer to ten
years that I have actually been working with
the Philippines,” he stated.
Upon his posting in the country, the ambassador worked as the
Delegation’s First Counsellor. When he
departed the Philippines in 1995, Ambassador
MacDonald was awarded the Order of Sikatuna,
rank of Lakan. The award was given in
recognition of the following: development
and economic cooperation, enhancement of
economic relations and trade expansion,
humanitarian assistance in times of
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national calamities, promotion of
investments and collaboration with
the Chamber of Commerce. “It was a
tremendous honor and very unusual
for somebody in my position at the
time. Ambassadors often get that
award. I am very proud of it.”
2007 is the 29th year of Ambassador MacDonald in the EC. Though working
in Asia is fun, he does not deny the
existence of challenges in his
career. “The permanent challenges
are: keep yourself informed, always
have an open mind when analyzing and
reflecting and most importantly, be
free from prejudice which I |
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But here in the Philippines, I get
to have meetings with the real
world, the world outside the
organization. And that’s just for
the days when I am in Manila. When I
get the opportunity to go out into
the field, I highly enjoy it,” the
ambassador confessed. Last month,
Ambassador MacDonald went to Negros
and Compostela Valley to visit the
Delegation’s current projects, which
include working with agrarian reform
beneficiaries, setting up a
cooperative and talking to farmers
to learn about their challenges and
successes in a project’s
implementation. |
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The
diplomat is also fond of the
delicious grilled panga (jaw of a
tuna) with vinegar, soy sauce,
calamansi (a local lime) and chili
on the side.
Ambassador MacDonald and his wife Brigitte Marie Revol are based in
the Philippines. Their children, Eve
and Gregor, are working in London
and Brussels respectively. The
family is in constant communication
through email and Skype. The
ambassador admitted that he and his
wife do not see their children as
often as they would like but the
family gets together twice or thrice
a year. When asked what his greatest
achievement is, he responded, “For
the moment, I would have to say that
my greatest achievement is having a
family. But I believe I am at an age
where other life achievements are
still somewhere in front of me. And
I would like to grow wiser as I get
older.”
The diplomat admits that he is not good in describing himself.
“It’s not so easy to stand back and
look at yourself.” Ambassador
MacDonald keeps it simple yet
meaningfully reflects on his
character: “I am over 6 feet, I had
brown hair once but it’s now
starting to grow gray, I wear
glasses and I’ve got a beard. But I
believe in the virtues of hard work,
getting the job done properly and
taking pains to make sure things are
correct, not just okay. Then I
examine the big picture without
focusing on superficial details and
see things from a long-term
perspective rather than just looking
at what’s happening now.”
In his free time, Ambassador MacDonald loves to read. He doesn’t just
have a favorite or two since he
enjoys countless books. In the
morning, the ambassador likes to
read about history, economics or
current affairs. When he unwinds in
the evening, he prefers detective
stories especially those written by
Robert Crais. The ambassador is also
fascinated with adventure stories,
fiction, non-fiction, the Icelandic
Sagas about the Vikings and the book
made into a film, “Master and
Commander.” Aside from reading, he
likes photography and bird watching.
As you draw a respectful glance on the photograph of a man with a
stately bearing on this page, the
person inside him still thinks that
nothing much has changed. Ambassador
MacDonald is still the same person
that he was more than 50 years ago.
The concrete idea people have of
themselves does not really change
even if there is evidence to the
contrary such as graying hair or
wrinkled skin. “You still think of
yourself as the person that you were
back when you first came into
being,” Ambassador MacDonald
concluded. |
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do not
necessarily connote in a
very negative sense. But
what I mean is, when people
think they know the answer
and have this kind of
attitude because they have
been doing something for a
while so they think ‘Oh this
is the same thing again,’ he
said. |
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Ambassador Alistair
Mac Donald
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“Being able
to visit barangays situated
on hilltops to talk to
farmers and barangay
officials is much more
exciting than just being
stuck in the office,” the
ambassador confessed.
The posting of Ambassador MacDonald here in the Philippines is until year
2010. “Normally, our
postings last four years. |
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Ambassador MacDonald has
worked in Asia for a long
time but the Philippines is
his favorite and the place
he enjoys most. The
ambassador likes the country
because of the English
language, the ease of
communicating with people
and having friends, not only
mere acquaintances, among
those that he works with.
These reasons truly make the
Philippines a special place
for him.
“One of the good things about this job is that there aren’t many
days which you can say are
typical because they do
change. If I spend the day
in the office, then I have
to do the usual humdrum
stuff like check emails,
read incoming mail and sign
outgoing mail,” the
ambassador disclosed.
Ambassador MacDonald openly
shared the differences
between working in Belgium
versus the Philippines. “In
Belgium, I spent much more
time dealing with internal
email and working with other
colleagues in the
Commission. |
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It is a
short time,” he admitted.
Before the ambassador’s term
is over, there is one thing
he would like to achieve
before leaving our shores.
“I hope that at the end of
the day, there will be this
greater awareness in the
Philippines about Europe and
in Europe about the
Philippines. I also want to
help create a better
familiarity of what Europe
in the European Union is
about. Then I would go away
content.”
Ambassador MacDonald not only enjoys the warm climate of the
Philippines but also the
beautiful remote places he
has visited such as Ifugao,
Kalinga, Aurora, Samar and
South Cotabato. The
ambassador also considers
the Filipinos as the
friendliest and most
warmhearted and finds Manila
to be colorful, cheery and
vibrant
because of the people.
“They’re not afraid to get
up and join in the singing.
I wouldn’t. I have a
terrible voice. Generally,
people here will participate
and that’s one thing that I
find attractive,” he mused. |
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DOT and
Philippine Everest Team to
Promote Ecotourism and
Conservation
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Tourism Secretary
Joseph Ace Durano
meets with
Philippine Everest
Team members Janet
Belarmino, Carina
Dayondon, Noelle
Wenceslao and Leo
Oracion after the
first part of the
group’s ongoing
victory tours around
the country.
Supported by the Department of Tourism (DOT), the renowned Filipino
mountaineers visited
various schools and
universities,
non-government
organizations, local
government |
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trekking
destinations. Ocular
trips to potential
sites in Luzon and
Mindanao are being
planned.
Oracion is one of the first Filipinos to reach the top of Mt.
Everest. Belarmino,
Dayondon and
Wenceslao are
recognized as the
first ASEAN women to
summit Mt. Everest
and the first women
in the world to
traverse the same
mountain from the
north side onTibet
down the south side
into Nepal. |
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 units
and civic groups in
Cagayan de Oro, Cebu,
Bacolod and Iloilo
to generate
awareness on
environmental
conservation, global
warming and
responsible tourist
practices.
The athletes are
currently assisting
the DOT in
identifying new
ecotourism and
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