Press Release
March 12, 2014

Whopping 95 career diplomats get CA nod

The Commission on Appointments (CA) today, 12 March 2014, consented to the nominations of eight ambassadors and confirmed the appointments of 87 other career diplomats of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, chair of the CA committee on foreign affairs, said that this is one of the biggest numbers of DFA officials to get the CA's nod.

Eight ambassadors, 25 chiefs of missions, 26 career ministers, and 36 foreign service officers were all confirmed today. The eight ambassadors were:

1. Bayani V. Mangibin, ambassador to Kenya, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwnda, Seychelles Somali, Tanzania, Uganda, and is also the permanent representative to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and HABITAT;

2. Petronila P. Garcia, ambassador to Canada;

3. Lamberto V. Monsanto, ambassador to Kuwait;

4. Ma. Amelita C. Aquino, ambassador to Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay;

5. Antonio A. Morales, ambassador to Singapore;

6. Joseph Gerard B. Angeles, ambassador to South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe;

7. Raul S. Hernandez, ambassador to Korea; and

8. Virgilio A. Reyes, ambassador to Italy, San Marino, Albania, and Malta.

According to the senator, all of the 95 diplomats were career diplomats. A career diplomat is a person who has passed the foreign service officers' (FSO) examination, which is a year-long examination considered as one of the toughest in the country.

"A career diplomat rises from the ranks. This is different from a political appointee, who is appointed to the position of ambassador, public minister, or consul, by the president at his pleasure," Santiago explained.

News Latest News Feed