The Commission on Appointments (CA) gave their nod to the nominations of the Philippines’ envoys to the United States and the United Nations but deferred the appointment of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.
During the CA’s plenary session, the committee on foreign affairs chaired by Senator Jinggoy Estrada approved the nomination of Jose Manuel Romualdez, a relative of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as ambassador to the United States.
Romualdez was also nominated as Chief of Mission, Class I, in his concurrent capacity as having jurisdiction over the Commonwealth of Jamaica, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and Grenadines and Saint Lucia.
Romualdez, whose term as an ambassador was supposed to expire June 30, retained his current post, which he has occupied since 2017, when he was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The CA also deliberated and approved the nomination of Antonio Manuel Lagdameo as permanent representative of the Philippines to the UN.
Lagdameo, father of Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo, was also nominated as Chief of Mission, Class I.
Prior to his appointment, the elder Lagdameo, a former Davao del Norte congressman, served as the country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.
The CA, however, suspended deliberation on Manalo’s ad interim appointment as Foreign Affairs chief, after House Majority Floor Leader and Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte asked for a suspension due to lack of time.
He noted that the CA still needed to convene its plenary session in the afternoon on that day and the members of the panel were not yet finished questioning Manalo, who was the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations before being assigned to head the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Manalo also briefly served as the acting DFA chief in 2017 after the ad-interim appointment of the late Perfecto Yasay Jr. was rejected by the CA.
Under the Arroyo presidency, the 69-year old Manalo was also the foreign undersecretary for policy. He was the country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and was head of mission to the European Union.
Before the panel could approve the motion, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri first urged Cabinet members to attend legislative hearings.
He specifically cited the Senate committee of foreign affairs, which has not yet held its organizational meeting since Manalo has been unable to confirm his attendance.
“I would like to reiterate the importance of being able to attend the committee hearing of the foreign affairs,” Zubiri said, noting that other committees have already completed their organizational meetings.
“I know you said you’re busy but we’re also very busy and we’re a co-equal branch of government. Remember that,” he said.
Senator Imee Marcos,, who chairs the foreign relations committee, also aired her frustration over Manalo’s failure to attend the panel’s organizational hearing and the delay in the submission of the DFA’s position on certain matters, such as the Visiting Forces Agreement, Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
“It is just my regret that we were unable to have the briefing the other day. I completely apologize for that, but it was honestly completely beyond my control, but I would have definitely come had these previous engagements not been there,” Manalo said.
He assured Marcos of his cooperation with her panel.
At the hearing, Marcos pressed Manalo to state his stand on Malaysia being ordered by a French court to pay $14.9 billion to the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate for breach of an international private lease agreement.
Marcos brought up a newspaper column, in which the columnist accused the ambassador of being a “weakling” for his silence on the Sabah claim.
“Given that you are the secretary of our Department of Foreign Affairs, let’s now set the record straight. What is actually your stand on the Sabah issue? Do you intend to support the continuing act of the Republic of the Philippines, following its predecessor and interest in recognizing the Sultanate of Sulu as a leading and unifying institution in the indigenous cultural communities in the Sulu archipelago and territories of North Borneo?” she asked.
Manalo said that his department will abide by the continuing Philippine policy and that the agency is coordinating with concerned agencies to assess the nature and implications of the French court ruling.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. tapped Alexander Ramos as the new head of an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in charge of all functions related to cybersecurity.
Ramos has been appointed as Executive Director V of the DICT’s Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said in a Palace briefing.
Malacañang has yet to release Ramos’ appointment papers.
Before his new appointment, Ramos served as a senior cyber security adviser at the DICT.
Apart from Ramos, Mary Rose Magsaysay has also been designated as CICC deputy executive director, Cruz-Angeles said.
Other new CICC appointees include Patricia May Abejo, Rojun Hosillos and Alvin Miro Navarro who will all hold the rank of Director IV.
The CICC, created upon the approval of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, is responsible for formulating a National Cybersecurity Plan and facilitating international cooperation on intelligence regarding cybersecurity matters.
It also serves as the lead agency in monitoring cybercrime cases handled by participating law enforcement and prosecution agencies, as well as in recommending the enactment of appropriate laws, issuances, measures, and policies pursuant to its mandate.
It is also mandated to lead the Philippine government’s efforts to protect the country, institutions, and citizens against cybercrime.
In June this year, the CICC launched the country’s first state-of-the-art Digital Forensics Platform and Laboratory to help the country’s fight against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.