Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin Jr. will be replacing Alan Peter Cayetano as foreign affairs secretary.
Locsin confirmed the news on his social media account stating that President Rodrigo Duterte himself offered him the post.
“I was asked I said yes; but love UN, the many friends & intellectual companions I made. But I didn’t say no when asked as I didn’t when he (Duterte) told me I was UN ambassador,” Locsin said.
As foreign affairs secretary, Locsin will still continue to handle UN-related matters.
“I will be Secretary of Foreign Affairs which includes the UN; I will have a direct hand until the architecture of sovereign independence in all matters of state that my team started to erect is remitted,” he said.
Who is Teddy Boy?
Duterte appointed Locsin as ambassador to the UN in 2016 when the organization was criticizing the country for the administration’s war on drugs campaign.
Locsin was also a former newspaper publisher and columnist, served as Makati 1st District Representative from 2001 to 2010. During his stint as a congressman, he was able to co-author several laws such as Anti-Money Laundering Law, the Anti-Terror Law, the Dual Citizenship Act, the Overseas Voting Act, and the Automated Election Law.
Locsin is also an active supporter of Duterte online, even before he became a part of the administration.
He served as presidential speechwriter of Office of the President during the term of the late president Corazon Aquino. He penned her standing ovation speech at the US Congress in 1986.
Cayetano to resign as foreign affairs secretary
Earlier, Duterte revealed that foreign affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano will be resigning from his post after the latter’s decision to run in the 2019 midterm elections.
In a press briefing, Duterte said that Cayetano will be running as congressman of Taguig City, prompting him to seek for a replacement in the foreign affairs department.
“[Cayetano will be] running as congressman sa distrito niya,” Duterte said.
