Sen. Lacson's Sponsorship Speech for Ambassadors Sulpicio Confiado and Akmad Sakkam
More at: https://pinglacson.net/2018/05/30/sponsorship-speech-for-ambassadors-sulpicio-confiado-and-akmad-sakkam/

Mr. Chairman... this Representation, as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, presided over a public hearing yesterday morning to deliberate on the nominations of two Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Your Committee, after deliberating on their qualifications and fitness during the said public hearing, determined that they are fit and qualified to be in the posts where they are nominated and therefore ruled to recommend to this plenary their nominations for the consent of the body.

It is therefore my honor and privilege to recommend that the Commission give its consent to the nomination of AMBASSADOR SULPICIO MIGUEL CONFIADO as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Arab Republic of Egypt, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Djibouti, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the State of Eritrea and the Republic of Sudan, with the salaries and emoluments of a Chief of Mission, Class I.

Our nominee has 24 years of experience in the foreign service. His government service, however, started even earlier in 1987 as the Chief of Production, Investigation and Research Department of the Presidential Commission on Good Government; and later, as Director of the Policy Research Support Branch and Deputy Legislative Liaison Officer of the National Security Council from 1989 to 1993.

He assumed significant posts in the foreign service, particularly at the Philippine Embassies in India, Germany, Tokyo and Vienna.

He has been highly credited for the active participation and representation of the Philippines in various APEC working groups in 2015. As the Consul General in Japan from 2007 to 2012, he was cited for actively organizing consular activities and dialogues with Filipino community leaders to address the pressing concerns of Filipinos based in Japan.

More so, he was credited as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Vienna, Austria for his key initiatives including the consular mapping of Filipino communities and cooperative linkages with various host countries such as Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

In July 2004, he was named one of the key personalities that organized the Secretariat on DFA Crisis Management during the abduction crisis of Angelo dela Cruz in Iraq.

In his long years of service, Ambassador Confiado has exemplified an array of accomplishments with his consular experience here and abroad.

To this end, Mr. Chairman and distinguished colleagues, it is my privilege and honor to recommend that this body give its consent to the appointment of AMBASSADOR SULPICIO MIGUEL CONFIADO as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Arab Republic of Egypt with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Djibouti, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the State of Eritrea and the Republic of Sudan.

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

Our second nominee is AMBASSADOR AKMAD ATLAH SAKKAM. A lawyer by profession, our nominee joined the government service as a legal consultant to the Office of the Minister in 1975 and later, as Med-Arbiter at the Bureau of Labor Relations, Ministry of Labor and Employment. In 1976, he became a Labor Attaché and was first posted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and later, to the Middle East and Africa.

His first stint as an Ambassador was from 1986 to 1992, when then President Corazon Aquino appointed him as the Philippine Ambassador to Iraq. Under his leadership, the Embassy of the Philippines in Baghdad was given the opportunity the highly coveted Special Presidential Award of Merit.

Mr. Chairman and distinguished colleagues, it is my privilege and honor to recommend that this body give its consent to the appointment of AMBASSADOR AKMAD ATLAH SAKKAM as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with concurrent jurisdiction over the State of Palestine.

I so move, Mr. Chairman.