By Ben Rosario  Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez should muster his diplomatic skills and work double time to avert a full scale diplomatic crisis between the Philippines and United States government. Anakalusugan partylist Rep. Michael Defensor (AnaKalusugan partylist Cong. Michael Defensor Official Facebook Page / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) Anakalusugan partylist Rep. Michael Defensor made this suggestion after Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo revealed that government will be requiring Americans to secure a visa before being granted entry to the Philippines if it imposes a ban on the entry of Philippine government officials into the US for participating in the alleged persecution of detained Senator Leila de Lima. The imposition of the ban was a “rider” provision of the US 2020 budget law that was recently signed by President Donal Trump. Authorized to impose the ban on US entry was the US Secretary of State who will make the move should there be credible information about a subject Philppine official to the alleged wrongful imprisonment of De Lima. “Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez should work double time to avoid a diplomatic crisis with the US,” said Defensor. He explained that being the top Filipino diplomatic official to the US, Romualdez should realize that it is his “role to reach out to” US government officials and senators and explain the circumstance the led to De Lima’s detention. According to Defensor, the Philippine envoy should also explain the stand of the Philppoine government regarding other human rights issues being raised by the US against the Duterte administration. “While we deplore the interference of the US Govt on the internal affairs of the nation , which at this stage involves not only the executive but the judiciary, it is also incumbent upon us to explain the situation in the Philippines,” said Defensor, chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts. He stated: “The US government, the UN Commission on Human Rights and other international forums should be actively engaged and not dismissed as we are part of a global network involved in economic and social objectives.” According to Defensor the concerns aired by the international community against alleged human rights violations of the Duterte administration could easily be explained and clarified. “Foreign governments and their nationals have seen what the country has accomplished and the “true” human rights situation and I am confident that if explained, the President will enjoy the high global trust ratings that he is enjoying in the country,” Defensor stated. Panelo said that if the US government makes good its threat to bar the entry to America, Philippiones will retaliate by lifting the no-visa privilege of Americans entering the country. Malacanang’s stance on the issue is opposite that of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s proposed tact in addressing it. Cayetano said that instead of retaliating, Philippines should invite to the Philippines authors of the rider inserted in the recently-approved US national budget. “Rather than retaliate, the best thing to do ay imbitahin po natin sila dito (is to invite them here). Let us invite US congressmen and congresswomen to visit the Philippines, talk to you – the media, go around the Philippines, including Mindanao and see whether or not dictatorship exists,” he said.