US embassies worldwide closed on January 9

MANILA, Philippines — The United States embassy in Manila and other US foreign missions worldwide will be closed on Jan. 9 to mark the national day of mourning for the late US president Jimmy Carter who died Sunday at the age of 100.

US President Joe Biden directed through an executive order all departments and agencies of the US federal government to be closed “as a mark of respect for James Earl Carter Jr., the thirty-ninth President of the United States.”

Carter, a Nobel peace laureate who rose from humble beginnings in rural Georgia to become president of the US from 1977 to 1981, passed away at his hometown in Plains, Georgia.

“My father was a hero, not only to me, but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and unselfish love,” Chip Carter, one of his sons, said in a statement.

President Marcos earlier paid tribute to Carter, describing him as “a humanitarian” and “a servant leader who pursued peace in places torn by war and prosperity in societies broken by want.”

“Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States, was a humanitarian who practiced what he preached: houses for the homeless and human rights for the oppressed,” Marcos said.