THE Philippines’ envoy to the United Nations will head the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs as part of a revamp of President Rodrigo Duterte’s cabinet ahead of the Philippines’ 2019 midterm elections.
Within hours of the official announcement of the appointment of Ambassador Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., the chairman of the bicameral body that confirms Executive appointments and the former secretary of foreign affairs endorsed the choice, along with two key senators.
Duterte said on Friday that he offered the post to Locsin Jr. and the envoy said on his personal Twitter account that he had accepted.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano will quit his post to run as representative in 2019. The deadline for candidacy in the elections is Oct. 17. A handful of cabinet officials are set to compete, with half the Senate posts, 297 House of Representatives seats and thousands of local government positions up for grabs.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, chairman of the Commission on Appointments, said of the appointment of Locsin: “One of the best appointments ever. Excellent choice. The PH cannot be bullied with him as DFA chief.”
Sotto added, “TeddyBoy Locsin, although a fighter, I know, will always square his actions and zcircumscribe his passions within due bounds!”
The Senate chief said “he will definitely be confirmed by the CA.”
A product of both Ateneo and La Salle, the Harvard-trained lawyer’s family published the pre-martial law Philippines Free Press, and himself later became publisher (Daily Globe and TODAY), and then lawmaker as three-term Makati congressman.
Right after the 1986 Edsa revolt, he also served in the Cabinet of Cory Aquino as presidential speech writer and one time legal counsel.
For his part, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario described Locsin as someone “known to be highly intelligent, articulate and independent-minded.”
In a statement sent to BusinessMirror, del Rosario said: “There is no doubt that—with his multidisciplined skills to be combined with personal conviction towards advancing our national interest at all times – Amb. Locsin will be able to more effectively move forward our nation’s defined foreign policy pillars encompassing the promotion of our national security, enhancement of our economic diplomacy and the promotion of the welfare of our Filipinos overseas.
“I join others who would welcome Ambassador Locsin’s appointment as our Foreign Secretary.”
For his part, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said: “Teddyboy Locsin is an excellent choice to replace Alan Peter Cayetano as Secretary of Foreign Affairs.”
He added: “Ambassador Locsin has a good track record in public service, including his current stint as Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations—one of the country’s most prestigious and demanding diplomatic postings.”
Gatchalian said, “Anyone with a Twitter account knows that Ambassador Locsin does not mince words. He speaks his mind passionately and tells it like it is, even if it is something that many people might not want to hear. His character is well-suited for the messy arena of international relations, where diplomatic double-talk often gets in the way of achieving real progress among the international community of nations. I am hoping that Ambassador Locsin will be able to cut through the diplomatic doubletalk in order to foster deeper, more meaningful ties with our allies and further advance Philippine interests across the globe.”
Sen. Loren Legarda, who chairs the Senate foreign relations panel, congratulated Locsin. “He is fit for the job, honed by his long years of experience in public service, both as a journalist and public official. A lawyer by profession [who] worked with various Philippine presidents, Locsin has vast knowledge of international and local issues surrounding the country and how the dynamics of world politics affect our nation. His stint as Philippine permanent representative to the UN seems to have foreshadowed his appointment as the country’s top diplomat.”
As chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Legarda promised to work with him in advancing the Philippines’ diplomatic relations with other nations and upholding the four pillars of Philippine foreign policy.”
The appointment of Locsin as top diplomat comes around two years since a pivot by Duterte to China, straining ties with the US.
Locsin, however, has been known to speak with a certain level of independence. In his latest column in BusinessMirror (“Free Fire,” October 3, 2018) , he shared the remarks he made, as “personal intervention” at a recent forum in Yale University, where he likened engagement with a big country (apparently referencing China and Russia) as like “dancing in the dark with a bear.” One does not run away from a bear that can easily overtake him, nor fight it, as it will maul him to death. Instead, Locsin quoted a Central Asian ambassador (the so-called “-tan countries” have been “menaced” by Russia and China, Locsin noted) as pitching this mode: “What you do is run toward the bear and hug it tight. Of course, it can crush you against its chest. But not if you hug it really tight and dance with it.”
Image credits: DFA Office of Public Diplomacy