Press Release
September 16, 2020

Sponsorship Speech at the Commission on Appointments
by Senator Panfilo M. Lacson

More at: https://pinglacson.net/2020/09/16/sponsorship-speech-for-13-dfa-officers-at-the-commission-on-appointments/

Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Commission on Appointments, our common idol, Mr. Senate President - the fightingest secretary of the DFA, this Representation as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, presided over a public hearing this morning to deliberate on the nominations of six (6) Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The Committee likewise deliberated on the ad interim appointments of one (1) Senior Officer to the rank of Chief of Mission, Class I, and six (6) Senior Officials promoted to the rank of Foreign Service Officer, Class II.

Your Committee, after deliberating on their qualifications and fitness during the said public hearing, determined that all of the six (6) nominees and seven (7) appointees are fit and qualified to the post and position to which they are respectively promoted or nominated, and ruled to recommend to the plenary their respective nominations and appointments for the consent and confirmation of this august body.

Mr. Chairman, it is therefore my honor and privilege to recommend that the Commission give its consent to the nomination of the following Department of Foreign Affairs' Senior Officers, namely:

MS. MARIA AMELITA C. AQUINO. Our nominee has 35 long years of experience in the Foreign Service. She started as a Foreign Service Staff Employee III performing the functions of a clerk at the Office of American Affairs, and worked her way up to assume important posts overseas, particularly, at the Philippine Embassies in Santiago, Chile; Mexico City, Mexico; Chongqing, China; and finally, in Buenos Aires, Argentina where she earned the distinction of being the first woman to assume the post of a Philippine Ambassador to Argentina with concurrent jurisdiction over Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Mr. Chairman, it is my honor to recommend that this body give its consent to the nomination of MS. MARIA AMELITA C. AQUINO as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Cambodia, with the salary and emoluments of a Chief of Mission, Class I.

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

Our next nominee is ATTY. FRANK REVIL CIMAFRANCA.

He is fondly known to many as Jojo, a proud Boholanon and probinsyano. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1981 as a clerk and researcher. He later pursued his law studies while at the DFA and steadily made his way up to significant overseas posts.

In recognition of his outstanding service to our migrant workers, he was conferred with the Parangal-Kabalikat na Lingkod-Bayan Award in 2010.

Mr. Chairman and distinguished colleagues, it is my privilege and honor to recommend that this body give its consent to the nomination of ATTY. FRANK REVIL CIMAFRANCA as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Hungary, with concurrent jurisdiction over Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Romania, the Republic of Serbia, and the Republic of Moldova, with the salary and emoluments of a Chief of Mission, Class I.

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

Our third nominee is MR. MEYNARDO LOS BAÑOS MONTEALEGRE. Our nominee has 30 years of experience in the Foreign Service, starting in 1990 as the Principal Assistant of the Northeast Asia Division (Japan and Korea) to his present post as Assistant Secretary of the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs or ASPAC. Under his leadership, ASPAC was honored with the Best Organization Award in 2019, Top Newsmaker Award and the Most Requested Office for Media Interview Award 2019 by the DFA.

Mr. Chairman, it is my privilege and honor to recommend that this body give its consent to the nomination of MR. MEYNARDO MONTEALEGRE as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

Our next nominee started his legal career as an Associate Lawyer in various private firms in 1990, until he joined the Department in 1995. He rose from the ranks and assumed key positions overseas, particularly at the Embassies of the Republic of the Philippines in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Muscat, Oman; Wellington, New Zealand and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Being the current Assistant Secretary of the DFA's Internal Audit Service, it is worth mentioning that he effectively headed various internal audit teams that audited 17 of the DFA's units comprising seven Regional Consular Offices and 10 Foreign Service Posts, and thereafter conducted Management Conferences relative to the findings.

Mr. Chairman and distinguished colleagues, it is my privilege and honor to recommend that this body give its consent to the appointment of ATTY. GIOVANNI ENDENCIA PALEC as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Hellenic Republic with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Cyprus, with the salary and emoluments of a Chief of Mission, Class II.

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, our next nominee is LT. GEN. MACAIROG S. ALBERTO (Retired). A fellow cavalier from PMA Sinagtala Class of 1986, our nominee has a reputable 37-year service in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He was conferred with a Distinguished Service Star in 2008 as the Battalion Commander of the 3rd Scout Ranger Battalion; and again, in 2015, as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence of the Philippine Army (PA). His outstanding credentials in military service affirm his competency and advantage as an envoy to the State of Israel.

Mr. Chairman, it is my privilege and honor to recommend that this body give its consent to the nomination of GEN. MACAIROG S. ALBERTO as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the State of Israel, with the salary and emoluments of a Chief of Mission, Class I.

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, our last nominee is MR. MOHD. NOORDIN PENDOSINA NOOR LOMONDOT. He has been lauded for ably promoting the welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), most recognized of which was the successful rescue of ten (10) Filipinas who were victims of abuse in Labuan, Malaysia and which earned him one of his laurels, the Kalinga sa Kapwa Award, by the Social Welfare Attaché.

Mr. Chairman, it is my privilege and honor to recommend that this body give its consent to the nomination of MR. MOHD. NOORDIN PENDOSINA NOOR LOMONDOT as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the State of Kuwait with the salary and emoluments of a Chief of Mission, Class I.

I so move, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chairman, it is likewise my honor and privilege to recommend to the Commission the confirmation of the ad interim appointment of MS. MILLICENT CRUZ-PAREDES, a lawyer by profession who has passionately worked for the diplomatic service for more than two decades and is now serving as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Thailand and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), to the rank of Chief of Mission, Class I.

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

At this point, Mr. Chairman, let me recommend to the Commission the confirmation of the ad interim appointments of the following officials to the rank of Foreign Service Officer, Class II:

1. MR. JUAN CARLOS C. BORROMEO I so move, Mr. Chairman.

2. MS. JANINA LOURDES S. BUSTOS I so move, Mr. Chair.

3. MR. RAINIER JAEN CASIS* I so move, Mr. Chairman.

4. MS. MA. CHARMAINE D. GUEVARA* I so move, Mr. Chair.

5. MR. ALVIN CASTAÑEDA MALASIG* I so move, Mr. Chair.

And finally,

6. MR. JOSE CARLO GRIMALDO MORALES*

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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