Former Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary and Ambassador to the United States Albert del Rosario died on Tuesday, according to his family and announced by the Management Association of the Philippines. He was 83.
“The family of Ambassador Albert Ferreros del Rosario is deeply saddened to announce his passing today, April 18,” the family said in a statement.
“The family requests privacy during this difficult time. Details will be released at a later date,” it added.
“Please pray for the eternal repose of the soul of Ambassador del Rosario, who passed away on April 18, 2023 at the age of 83. He was a MAP member for 45 years. Wake and interment details will be announced later,” the management group, which he was president of in 2007, said in its announcement.
Del Rosario spearheaded the successful arbitration case that resulted in the 2016 legal victory for the Philippines over China on the South China Sea territorial disputes.
He contributed many opinion and thought pieces on the maritime issue and national defense in general to several publications, including the Manila Standard.
He was also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Stratbase ADR Institute, providing guidance and direction to the numerous policy studies and advocacies that the Institute advances.
“It is with profound sadness that we at the Stratbase Group offer our deepest condolences to the family of our beloved Chairperson, Ambassador Albert F. del Rosario,” the organization said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
“It has been an honor to work with a leader who personified the highest level of statesmanship, integrity, and love of country that has inspired us to sustain the strategically critical advocacies of the Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Studies,” it added.
“(Del Rosario) has been a champion of democratic values and a rules-based international order to sustain lasting peace, security, and prosperity for all. He has fought for an independent foreign policy that prioritizes the interests of the country and of the Filipino people.”
“He believed that diplomacy is a great equalizer in international affairs and that each state had an equal voice in the global community regardless of their political, economic, or military capabilities,” it added.
“This is a shared passion that we are committed to honor and pursue. With heartfelt gratitude and love. Rest in peace, ADR,” Stratbase said.
Ambassador del Rosario was born in Manila to Luis del Rosario and Amparo Ferreros. His great grandmother Teresa Sempio was a sister of Felipa Sempio, the mother of Gregorio del Pilar. His grandfather, Judge Simplicio Sempio del Rosario, was a delegate to the Malolos Congress.
Albert del Rosario attended Xavier High School in New York City and subsequently graduated from New York University with Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics.
He was the former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines from February 2011 to March 2016 under the administration of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III. He also served as Philippine Ambassador to the United States of America from October 2001 to August 2006.
Prior to entering public service, Ambassador Del Rosario was on the Board of Directors of over 50 firms. His business career for over four decades has spanned the insurance, banking, real estate, shipping, telecommunications, advertising, consumer products, retail, pharmaceutical and food industries.
Ambassador del Rosario is Chairman of Philippine Stratbase Consultancy, Inc., Gotuaco del Rosario Insurance Brokers, Inc., Stratbase ADR Institute, Inc., and a director of First Pacific Company, Indra Philippines, Inc., PLDT Inc., Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation, Sarimonde Foods Corporation, Two Rivers Pacific Holdings Corporation, Metro Pacific Resources, Inc., Metro Pacific Holdings, Inc., Metro Pacific Asset Holdings, Inc., Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corporation, Enterprise Investments Holdings, Inc., Rockwell Land Corporation and Asia Insurance (Phil.) Corp.
He is also a trustee of the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace & Development and Philippine Cancer Society, Inc., a member of Asia Society Global Council and an Advisory Board of Metrobank Foundation, Inc. and CSIS Southeast Asia Program.
Ambassador del Rosario received numerous awards and recognition for his valuable contributions to the Philippines and abroad.
In September 2004, Ambassador del Rosario was conferred the Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Datu, by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for his outstanding efforts in promoting foreign relations for the Philippines and the Order of Lakandula with a Rank of Grand Cross (Bayani) for acting as Co-Chair of the 2015 APEC in December 2015.
He was a recipient of the EDSA II Presidential Heroes Award in recognition of his work in fostering Philippine democracy in 2001 and the Philippine Army Award from President Corazon Aquino for his accomplishments as Chairman of the Makati Foundation for Education in 1991.
He was awarded as 2013 Professional Chair for Public Service and Governance by Ateneo School of Government and the Metrobank Foundation, 2014 Management Man of the Year by Management Association of the Philippines, 2016 Outstanding Government National Official by Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), 2016 Asia CEO Awards as Life Contributor, and Manuel L. Quezon Gawad Parangal as Quezon City’s Most Outstanding Citizens for 2016.
He was elevated to the Xavier Hall of Fame in New York City in 2006.
Ambassador del Rosario received the AIM Washington Sycip Distinguished Management Leadership Award in 2011, Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) for “principled commitment to democracy, integrity and the rule of law both at home and around the globe” conferred by the College of Mount Saint Vincent, New York City in September 2015, Rotary Club Makati West’s First “Albert del Rosario Award” (Tungo sa Makatarungang Pamumuhay) in August 2016, Outstanding Leadership in Diplomatic Service by Miriam College Department of International Studies and Philippine Tatler’s Diamond Award both in November 2016.
Health issues
In February 2016, Del Rosario has told then-President Aquino that he is stepping down from his post due to health reasons.
Del Rosario has long been suffering from a spinal problem, a debilitating condition, which has worsened for several months before he stepped down from office. He went on medical leave in May 2015 for a back surgery in the United States which turned unsuccessful.
His health problems were further complicated by a previously-undetected heart condition that required his doctors to hurriedly install a pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat in a Metro Manila hospital.
Despite his health concerns, Del Rosario has persisted to perform his delicate tasks, including the repatriation of large numbers of overseas Filipino workers and residents who have been trapped in conflict-torn Arab states like Libya and Syria, GMA News reported.
Case vs. China
A vocal critic of China, Del Rosario spearheaded the filing of a landmark Philippine government arbitration case that challenged the validity of China’s sprawling territorial claims in the South China Sea and sought to clarify the territorial entitlements of certain Chinese-occupied features under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas, or UNCLOS.
The Philippine arbitration case has been praised as a rules-based and internationally-accepted solution of the long-dragging conflict by several governments led by the United States, Japan, Australia, the European Union, but ignored by China, which called it “baseless” and “lacking in legal merit.”
In July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands delivered a sweeping victory to the Philippines on the case it filed against China in 2013 and declared China’s claim over nearly the entire South China Sea as illegal. China does not recognize the ruling and insists indisputable historic rights over nearly the entire waters.
In June 2019, Del Rosario was barred from entering Hong Kong after being held by immigration authorities for six hours. “Denied entry with no explanation after 6-hour hold,” Del Rosario, who was supposed to attend a business meeting there, said then.
His health condition, however, prompted him to decide to leave Aquino’s Cabinet earlier than planned. He originally intended to leave government at the same time with Aquino, whose six-year term ended in June 2016, he told GMA News Online in a previous interview.
In 2015, Del Rosario discreetly negotiated with Indonesian officials to spare Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso from imminent execution by firing squad earlier in the year. He backed President Aquino’s quiet efforts to convince Indonesia’s top officials to save Veloso.
Veloso, a 30-year-old mother of two, was among the nine foreign and local death row prisoners, including Australians, scheduled to be executed by firing squad on April 29, 2015 for drug-related charges. All eight were executed, but Veloso was spared from death at the last minute.
As DFA chief, Del Rosario has also struck close friendships with his counterparts worldwide, including with then US Secretary Hillary Clinton and her successor, John Kerry, along with top ASEAN diplomats and harnessed his contacts to negotiate better security and economic arrangements for the Philippines, DFA diplomats say.
With his advocacy for a rules-based solution based on international laws on the South China Sea and other issues, Del Rosario emerged as a key and outspoken leader in the ASEAN, where some of his counterparts have traditionally taken conservative and safe but ineffective policy positions, according to diplomats.
Aside from his hyperactive foreign diplomacy work, many DFA reforms were initiated to ease public burdens, including the opening of DFA satellite offices in shopping malls to bring consular services, including passport applications, closer to the people.