Political leaders, senior members of the foreign service and the business community of the country paid tribute on Tuesday to prominent business leader and former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Roberto “Bobby” Romulo.
Also known “RRR,” Romulo, passed away last Sunday, January 23. He was 83.
Vice President Leni Robredo, who got the support of Romulo and 22 Cabinet members of former President Fidel Ramos in December, said she was saddened by the passing of “an exemplary public servant and a gentleman.”
“Honored to have received his trust and support. My deepest condolences to his family, as I join a Filipino nation grateful for his service,” she tweeted.
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also paid tribute to her former adviser on international competitiveness.
“Dear Bobby, thank you for helping me craft my foreign policy, choose my ambassadors, engage international business. Rest in peace,” Arroyo wrote during a Zoom call and mass offering hosted by his best friend and former Ambassador to London Jesus Tambunting.
Bobby is one of the sons of statesman Carlos P. Romulo, former United Nations General Assembly President, former DFA Secretary and Pulitzer Prize journalist.
“One thing about the Romulos, father and sons: they valued excellence, good conduct, and love of country and of American idealism. Bobby epitomized those values in near heroic metrics,” Toni Lopez, chairman and CEO of BizNewsAsia Magazine, wrote in a tribute posted in Carlos P. Romulo Foundation web site.
A graduate of Georgetown University and Ateneo de Manila Law School, Romulo rose from the ranks, first as a marketing trainee of tech giant IBM in New York and eventually became general manager and president of IBM Philippines and Thailand.
When President Corazon Aquino was catapulted to power in 1986, Bobby Romulo was tapped as one of her business consultants until he was appointed ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Commission of the European Communities. In 1992, President Ramos appointed him as foreign affairs secretary.
His stint as DFA Secretary was marred with controversy, as Filipina domestic helper Flor Contemplacion was hanged in Singapore for killing a fellow Filipina and her ward. Amid furor during a midterm election year, Romulo, along with Labor Secretary Nieves Confesor, quit to save the Ramos administration.
Ambassador Enrique Manalo, permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, said Romulo’s legacy in the Foreign Service is economic diplomacy.
“It was during his time as Secretary of Foreign Affairs that the DFA flourished as a veritable arm for economic development at a time when our country was resolutely pushing for economic reforms,” Manalo said.
“RRR was a good leader and a true patriot. He believed in our country and had faith in our Foreign Service, which he always supported. It was truly a privilege to have served under him,” Ambassador Evan Garcia, Philippine Permanent Representative to United Nations in Geneva told the BusinessMirror.
Romulo rejoined the private sector and held various positions in top companies in the country—chairman of PLDT, vice chairman of San Miguel International, chairman of Interpharma Investments Ltd. (Zuellig Pharma), board member of MIH, independent director of A. Soriano Corporation, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Singapore Land and UIC. He was also chairman of AIG Philippines Insurance, MediLink Network, and Nationwide Development Corporation.
Despite his busy schedule in the private sector, he remained committed to nation building as he founded the APEC Business Advisory Council, and became its chairman of Philippine representation. He was also the chairman of the e-Asean Task Force, a public/private sector advisory council created by the Asean leaders from 1999 to 2001.
He was also chairman of non-profit organizations: Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development, Zuellig Family Foundation, and Asia-Europe Foundation of the Philippines. He is a Cofounder and Trustee of the US-Philippines Society.
Zuellig Family Foundation, which announced his passing Monday night, said Ambassador Romulo led them in their mission of improving the health of vulnerable and disadvantaged Filipinos “by helping elected political leaders improve their local health systems and services.”
In 2016, he was presented the Arangkada Lifetime Achievement Award by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFCP).
“He has championed many advocacies such as on national competitiveness, the IT-BPO sector, public health care, and disaster preparedness,” the JFCP said in a statement.
Philippine Ambassador to Argentina Linglingay Lacanlale likewise heaped praises on Romulo’s courage as columnist of Philippine Star.
“As a private citizen, he was fearless in speaking out about the ills that plague the country through his newspaper column. He was a man who genuinely cared for those who had less in life by initiating economic and social programs that would help lift the country and its people out of poverty,” Lacanlale wrote.