Senators welcome appointment of Locsin as new DFA chief

FILE: Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin, Jr. (Photo: Teddy Boy Locsin/Facebook)

Several members of the upper chamber hailed the appointment of Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin, Jr. as the next chief of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Locsin will succeed Alan Peter Cayetano, who will run for Taguig representative in the 2019 elections.

For Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Locsin being chosen as Cayetano’s replacement is an “excellent choice.”

“One of the best appointment[s] ever. Excellent choice. The PH cannot be bullied with him as DFA chief,” Sotto said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, for his part, believes that the Commission on Appointments (CA) will confirm Locsin’s appointment without any obstruction.

“Rarely can you find a man who can quote the classics but can curse like a stevedore. He will use his formidable knowledge in world affairs and in law in advancing our country’s interests and in protecting our countrymen abroad,” Recto said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian also believes that Locsin, who has been very vocal on his thoughts about various issues, is very fit to become the next DFA secretary.

“Anyone with a Twitter account knows that Ambassador Locsin does not mince words,” Gatchalian said.

He added, “His character is well suited for the messy arena of international relations, where diplomatic double-talk often gets in the way of achieving real progress among the international community of nations.”

As a lawyer by profession who has already worked with various Presidents of the country, Senator Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said she is certain that Locsin “will not waver in protecting our people and our nation’s interests.”

“I will work with him in advancing the Philippines’ diplomatic relations with other nations and upholding the four pillars of Philippine foreign policy,” she said.

Also lauding this development, Senator Joseph Victor (JV) Ejercito added that the DFA will “certainly benefit” from Locsin’s long experience in public service and his brilliance.

“I am confident that he can ably represent the interests of the Filipino people before the international community. The global challenges that we face are indeed formidable but so is our incoming Foreign Affairs chief,” Ejercito stressed.yy

On Friday, Locsin said that he accepted the offer to become the new country’s top diplomat.

“I will be Secretary of Foreign Affairs which includes the UN; I will have a direct hand until the architecture of sovereign independence in all matters of state that my team started to erect is remitted. Talent that doesn’t exist outside DFA will complete it,” he wrote in a tweet.

Locsin, before becoming an ambassador, is a lawyer and former newspaper publisher and journalist. He also served as Makati 1st District Representative from 2001 to 2010.