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Co-Sponsorship Speech: Confirmation of the Nomination of Mylene J. Garcia-Albano as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan

September 21, 2022

Co-Sponsorship Speech

Confirmation of the Nomination of

Mylene J. Garcia-Albano

as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan

Session Hall, Senate of the Philippines

21 September 2022

 

Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Commission on Appointments,

Today, I have the distinct honor of introducing to you our nominee, Ambassador-designate of the Philippines to Japan, Mylene Garcia-Albano.

It is a privilege to have known a woman who sets a high standard in leadership, one who is armed with the discipline and determination to get things done. This was evident in her journey even before she began her legal career. Neither marriage nor marital duties to her spouse, the incumbent Provincial Governor of Isabela Rodolfo T. Albano III, proved to be distractions in her pursuit of academic and leadership excellence then. She was a consistent dean’s lister and graduated as Salutatorian at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law.

At the same distinguished law school, she earned the distinction of being the first female Student Council President. Ambassador Mylene Garcia-Albano ranked third (3rd) in the 1990 Bar Examinations.

Shortly thereafter, she worked as an Associate at the Ponce Enrile Cayetano Reyes and Manalastas Law Office.

Mylene Garcia-Albano also served in the executive branch as Assistant Secretary at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). She later joined the legislature and served in Congress as Representative of the Second (2nd) District of Davao City for three (3) terms, following the footsteps of her late father former Congressman Manuel “Nonoy” Garcia, whom I knew when I was a young Senator. Her youngest brother, Congressman Vincent Garcia, is the incumbent Representative of the same district in Davao City.

Her sense of duty and eagerness to execute enormous tasks are not alien to her. She is consistently reliable. Her track record and dedication to public service will reaffirm the already strong bilateral relations between our country and Japan. Her compassion in serving the people first is a central tenet in ensuring the safety and well-being of the over 285,739 Filipinos living in Japan.[1]

Chairman, distinguished colleagues, it is therefore a privilege and honor to join the sponsor in moving for the confirmation of the nomination of a high school classmate and a colleague in government, Mylene J. Garcia-Albano as the Ambassador of the Philippines to Japan.

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

 

[1] As of June 2021; from PH-Japan Bilateral Relations Briefer issued by DFA.