Teehankee reappointed to WTO

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has reappointed lawyer Manuel Antonio Teehankee as the Philippines’ representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, Malacañang announced yesterday.

Palace briefer Daphne Paez announced Teehankee’s reappointment as well as new appointees in the agriculture, information and communications technology, labor and trade departments and National Security Council (NSC).

Teehankee was first appointed by Marcos as the country’s representative to the WTO in July last year.

Last December, the Commission on Appointments foreign affairs committee decided to defer deliberations on Teehankee’s appointment until he submits a copy of the Understanding on Agreed Procedures signed by the Philippines and Thailand.

Teehankee was first appointed to the post in 2004 by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He represented the Philippines before the international trade body until 2011.

During his first stint as representative to the WTO, he served as chair of the body’s trade and environment committee from 2008 to October 2011.

In 2016, Teehankee was appointed foreign affairs undersecretary for international economic relations.

A year later, he was again tapped to represent the Philippines to the WTO by former president Rodrigo Duterte.

In 2019, Teehankee was designated chair of WTO’s trade policy review body.

He also served as a former justice undersecretary, government corporate counsel and adjunct professor of public and private international law and WTO Law at the Ateneo de Manila University Law School.

Teehankee, who topped the Philippine Bar in 1984, holds two masters of law degrees from the London School of Economics and political science as a Chevening scholar.

Other new appointees include Andrew Rodolfo Oraiz and Jose Elumba, director IV and III, respectively, of the agriculture department; Frederick Amores, director IV, and Sittie Rahma Alawi, Reynaldo Sy and Jocelyn Tendenilla, directors III of the information and communications technology department.

The new appointees in the labor department are Kenneth Chua, employer sector representative of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council, and Milagros Ogalinda, labor sector representative of the NTIPC.

Marcos also appointed Leonila Baluyut as trade assistant secretary, Marlo Guloy and Benjamin Madrigal Jr. as deputy directors-general of the NSC.