Being designated a liaison officer (LO) is a usual part of the work of a Foreign Service Officer. In particular, you will be assigned to visiting dignitaries and guests and your role is to make their stay as smooth as possible, from fetching them at the airport, bringing them to their hotel, ensuring that they are briefed on the meeting and event schedules, touring them around the city (or town) should they request it, and finally accompanying them to the airport after the event has ended.

I had two (2) official LO assignments when I was assigned in the DFA Office of ASEAN Affairs, one in 2016 and another in 2017. It was both a brief schedule, much shorter than my batch mates’ assignments, since I was more involved then in the substantive matters in ASEAN Meetings as well as in preparation for the Philippine Chairship of ASEAN in 2017, particularly in ensuring that all needed documents from our Office are ready and preparing the written meeting documentations afterwards. This is a process that needed patience, hard work, time, and constant coordination with the stakeholders, since the master document contains the inputs of all relevant government agencies, written in a cohesive manner.

Going back to being an LO, my first assignment was assisting the Ambassador of Myanmar during the 49th ASEAN Day Diplomatic Reception held in Conrad Hotel Manila on 08 August 2016. The tasks here were to: (1) Greet present leis and escort to their designated seats; (2) Usher them onstage for the photo opportunity and back to their seats; (3) Hand out their souvenir tokens before the event ends.

My second LO assignment was in October 2017, still as part of the Office of ASEAN Affairs since I returned to this Office after my 6-month cadetship (mandatory training for new FSOs in the Philippines). If in the previous, I only assisted during the dinner reception, in my second task, it was more comprehensive. I fetched the then Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs from the airport at night and accompanied him to the official hotel (which name escapes me now) in Manila. Then, during the course of the meetings, I made sure to inform him about the schedule, including some minor changes. In the duration of the meetings, I accompanied him to the door of the meeting rooms and waited for him until the end of his dinner reception.

In two instances, I accompanied him to the smoking area, keeping a respectful distance and at an area where I will not inhale second-hand smoke.

Prior to the event, in my unofficicial discussion/sharing with other LOs so I know what to expect and prepare for, I obtained the information that based on their previous experiences, some guests liked to go out in the evening or after the event to go shopping or buy souvenirs or visit some heritage areas and/or well-known landmarks in the country, so I readied myself for that. But my guest never requested to have a tour or Manila nor go to certain shops. Other guests might also have a certain medical condition, which require alertness and some ready medications. Thankfully, my assigned guest didn’t have a concern about his health.

At the end of the four-day meetings, he offered to host me and another fellow LO in a nearby restaurant, which we graciously accepted.

Just to share, my other LO tasks (during my foreign assignment in France from 2018-2021) were not considered official, although they still involve similar tasks like welcoming the guests, bringing them to certain restaurants, guiding them in the transportation, and even joining them in Seine River cruises and a Mont Saint-Michel tours.

Overall, being an LO is not an easy job, but it isn’t complicated either. You simply need to be punctual, organized and disciplined. You are also working with a team, so you have to ensure to do your role well and coordinate with the other units. It also requires putting the interest and well-being of your assigned guest foremost during the duration of the event and until such time they are safely on their flight back to their home cities or countries.