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Omnibus Co-sponsorship Speech of Sen. Loren Legarda on the ad interim appointments and nominations of the DFA Officials

August 7, 2024

Omnibus Co-sponsorship Speech of Sen. Loren Legarda on the ad interim appointments and nominations of the DFA Officials
Commission on Appointments
Senate Session Hall
7 August 2024

Mr. Chairman, esteemed colleagues, and fellow countrymen,

It is an honor and privilege to support the confirmation of the ad interim appointments and nominations of distinguished officials for key positions in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

These individuals are more than qualified. They possess a wealth of experience, track record, and an unwavering commitment to fulfilling the challenging responsibilities of representing our nation abroad and safeguarding the interests of Filipinos worldwide. Among them are:

  1. Ambassador Nina Padilla Cainglet who will be representing our country in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. We have established strong relations with these countries in terms of fighting against climate change. We work together in the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) where countries highly vulnerable to the climate crisis act together to deal with this historic global challenge across all world regions. I have worked with the Member of the Parliament in Bangladesh, Mr. Saber Chowdhury, and with the former president of Maldives and now Secretary General of the CVF, Mohamed Nasheed in challenging the executive departments to dramatically raise climate ambition.
  2. Ambassador Adrian Bernie Candolada, for Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, has been a very reliable partner of the Senate while he served as the Assistant Secretary of DFA’s Department Legislative Liaison Unit (DLLU).
  3. Ambassador Antonio Morales, who will represent us in the Commonwealth of Australia, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Nauru, Tuvalu, and the Republic of Vanuatu, carries with him the responsibility of looking after the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), which I sponsored in 2012.
  4. Ambassador Domingo Nolasco, who used to be our ambassador to Italy, has been very supportive of our country’s return to the Venice Biennale after 51 years of absence. He will now be stationed in the Republic of Finland at an embassy that I helped reopen in this Congress.
  5. Ambassador Noel Eugene Eusebio Servigon will represent us in Romania. Perhaps, we can enhance the cultural and artistic exchanges of our two nations as personally, I have worked with the Romanian artist Florica Zaharia, a Textile Conservator Emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of New York. She was in the Philippines last year to share conservation practices for our textiles.

Mr. Chairman, there are endless possibilities for partnerships in our economy, culture, and trade and we want to make sure that we have the right people to lead the way.
We have here fifteen (15) dedicated foreign service officers who are competent to navigate the complexities of international relations.

It is therefore my honor and privilege to join the sponsor in recommending the confirmation of the ad interim appointments and nominations of esteemed foreign service officers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.