Tag: foreign affairs

Pres. Marcos Jr., appoints career diplomat Enrique Manalo as new DFA chief

  (Eagle News) – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., has chosen seasoned career diplomat Enrique Manalo as secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Manalo, 69, was appointed on Friday, July 1, replacing Teodoro Locsin Jr. He had previously served as Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary from March 9 to May 17, 2017 during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. This was when the Commission on Appointment rejected the ad interim appointment of Perfecto Yasay Jr. […]

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Yasay passes away

(Eagle News) — Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. has passed away. His wife, Cecile, confirmed the news he had died at 7:26 a.m. due to pneumonia “caused by the recurrence of his cancer, not COVID.” Yasay was 73 years old. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. in a Tweet hailed Yasay, who had recommended him to a post in the United Nations, as someone who “hurt no one and helped everyone he could.” […]

DFA chief Locsin represents President Duterte at 12th Asia-Europe meeting in Brussels

Newly-appointed Foreign Affairs Secretary and concurrent Representative to the United Nations Teodoro Locsin Jr. represented President Rodrigo Duterte at the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit and EU-ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in Brussels, Belgium on October 18 Central European Summer Time. ASEM, a platform for dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe, is expected to reinforce its role as a catalyst for effective alliance of countries pursuing common goals as well as to bring out the pillars […]

Duterte designates ex-presidential spokesperson Abella as Foreign Affairs undersecretary

(Eagle News) — Ernesto Abella is now Foreign Affairs undersecretary. The appointment was made by President Rodrigo Duterte himself in a letter dated Oct. 27. The mild-mannered Abella was presidential spokesperson until he was replaced by then-Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque on Oct. 28. Roque, however, assumed his new post only on Nov. 6. Duterte had said removing Abella from the presidential spokesperson post was his “personal decision.”  

Senior foreign officials of ASEAN meet in Manila to prepare for 31st ASEAN Summit in November

  (Eagle News) – Senior foreign affairs officials of the Philippines and of the other members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently gathered in Manila to discuss preparations for the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings set this November. Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Enrique Manalo chaired the meetings, which will also consider the logistic preparations for the Summit. The ASEAN senior foreign officials gathered at the Philippine International Convention Center from […]

CA approves Senator Cayetano’s appointment as Foreign Affairs chief

(Eagle News) — Alan Peter Cayetano is officially the new Foreign Affairs secretary. This after the powerful Commission on Appointments approved his appointment in a plenary hearing on Wednesday, with not one CA member opposing his confirmation. Senator Panfilo Lacson, who endorsed Cayetano’s nomination to the plenary, said the committee hearing on the country’s new top diplomat hours earlier was “probably the shortest public hearing” on an approved nomination. “(Cayetano) has shown his versatility in the floors of […]

CA panel approves Senator Cayetano’s appointment as Foreign Affairs secretary

(Eagle News) — A Commission on Appointments panel has approved the appointment of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as Foreign Affairs Secretary. The approval of the committee on foreign relations came only minutes after its deliberations began, upon a discussion of the rules that need to be complied with. Isabela Rep. Rodito Albano immediately filed a motion for Cayetano’s appointment to be approved. Not one member from the panel objected to Albano’s motion. According to Senator Panfilo […]

No green light by Duterte on Veloso, says DFA Secretary

MANILA, Sept. 13  (PIA) -– President Duterte has not given the so-called “green light” to the execution of Mary Jane Veloso. This was the clarification made by Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. after reading a news item in the Jakarta Post with an erroneous headline that ran, “Duterte has given green light for Mary Jane’s execution.” Yasay gave credence to a later paragraph in the Jakarta Post story which said: “Veloso was excluded indefinitely from the […]

ASEAN WEEK OPENS

MANILA – “One cannot appreciate one’s existence unless you know your history.” Former DFA Secretary and the first woman Foreign Minister of Asia, former ASEAN Director General Amb. Delia Albert underscored the importance of looking back at the historical significance of the founding of the ASEAN during the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Week at the UP Asian Center. With students, members of the academe and selected representatives of the ASEAN diplomatic corps, Amb. Albert […]