The Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Has appointed career diplomat Enrique Manalo as foreign affairs secretary.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed on Friday that Manalo is the new secretary of the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Before the appointment, Manalo served as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York and prior to that, he was undersecretary for policy at the Department of Foreign Affairs and will succeed DFA chief Teodoro Locsin Jr.
Angeles said Manalo requested for a few more days before he assumes office to “wind up affairs in his previous post” while Marcos, who was sworn in as president on Thursday, has said his administration would have an independent foreign policy and recognised that international partnerships were key to a stable region.
Manalo was appointed as DFA Undersecretary for Policy under the administrations of Presidents Duterte and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and he also briefly worked as acting DFA secretary after ad interim Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. was rejected by the Commission on Appointments and his foreign service career began in 1979. He also served as Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ireland Belgium and Luxembourg over the course of his four-decade career at the DFA.
