Eight ambassadors, 87 others get CA nod

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Appointments (CA) yesterday confirmed the appointment of eight ambassadors and 87 other career diplomats of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, who chairs the CA committee on foreign affairs, said it was the biggest number of diplomats to get the CA’s nod.

The group includes 25 chiefs of mission, 26 career ministers and 36 foreign service officers.

Santiago was unable to attend the plenary session and tasked Rep. Rufus Rodriguez to present the credentials of the nominees before the body.

The eight ambassadors are Bayani Mangibin, ambassador to Kenya, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwnda, Seychelles Somali, Tanzania and Uganda and permanent representative to the United Nations Environmental Program and HABITAT; Petronila Garcia, ambassador to Canada; Lamberto Monsanto, ambassador to Kuwait; Ma. Amelita Aquino, ambassador to Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay; Antonio Morales, ambassador to Singapore; Joseph Gerard Angeles, ambassador to South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; Raul Hernandez, ambassador to Korea; and Virgilio Reyes, ambassador to Italy, San Marino, Albania and Malta.

Santiago said a career diplomat is a person who has passed the foreign service officers’ examination, a yearlong examination considered as one of the toughest in the country.