Wednesday, August 15, 2018

90. 17 KAPAMPANGAN AMBASSADORS WHO HEADED EMBASSIES

An ambassador is, technically, is a career diplomat or political appointee who holds rank of Chief of Mission I or II, nominated and confirmed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary who heads diplomatic missions in Philippine embassies worldwide. (Diplomats of same rank or lower rank who serve as consuls general in embassies or consulates or ChargĂ© d’Affaires in embassies are not included here).
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1. H.E. JOSE M. ALEJANDRINO (Arayat). Ambassador to Spain and Italy.
Jose Medina Alejandrino comes from the prominent Alejandrinos of Arayat town that includes his namesake, revolutionist and senator, Gen. Jose Magdangal Alejandrino. A U.P. Law graduate, he placed 10th in the 1934 bar. Alejandrino organized the workers of Pambusco and Pasudeco into labor unions. He was sent as a scholar to the U.S. Department of State and went home to top the foreign service exams in the U.S. Rising through the ranks, he became an ambassador to Spain and Italy. The lawyer-diplomat counts Gen. Charles de Gaulle of France as a close friend.


2. H.E. LIBRADO CAYCO (Sta. Rita).  Ambassador to the Netherlands.
Ambassador Cayco(b.1912/d.2009), from Sta. Rita, was a Political Advisor with the Philippine Mission to the UN. He later served as Consul of the Philippines at New York and served as the Philippine ambassador to the Netherlands from 1962-1963,  He was the leader of the Philippines delegation to the Ministerial Meeting of the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization in 1965.


3. H.E. VICENTE I. SINGIAN (San Fernando). Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg.
In 1964, the Philippine established formal ties with the European community on 12 May 1964. Amb. Vicente Singian, of San Fernando was first assigned as First Secretary and Consul in Great Britain in 1954. Subsequently, he was named as the Head of Mission of Belgium and Luxembourg from 1964 to 1971.


4. H.E. AMELITO R. MUTUC (Arayat). Ambassador to the United States.
Amelito Ramirez Mutuc attended Arayat Institute, then topped his high school in Guagua. He earned his Associate in Arts (valedictorian) and completed his law degree in 1942 at Ateneo de Manila (salutatorian). In 1957, Mutuc caught the eye of then congressman, Diosdado P. Macapagal, who hired him as consultant for his candidacy as VP of the Philippines. Mutuc launched “Macapagal for Vice President Movement”, and from thereon, became the future president’s right hand man. When Macapagal was elected as President in  1962, he named Mutuc as his Executive Secretary.That same year, he was appointed as Ambassador to the United States, serving in Washington D.C. from 1962-1964. He died in 1994.


5. H.E. ROGELIO L. DE LA ROSA (Lubao). Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Cambodia, The Hague.
The golden boy of Philippine cinema, Regidor La Rosa began his political career when as elected Senator in 1955. He could have been our first movie star president had he continued his run for Presidency in 1961. Dela Rosa withdrew his candidacy to give way to his brother-in-law, Diosdado Macapagal  who eventually was elected Philippine president. De la Rosa was rewarded with an ambassadorial position in Cambodia in 1965. During the Marcos years, de la Rosa was  named ambassador to the The Hague, Netherlands, and to the Soviet bloc countries of Poland, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia. His last  post was Sri Lanka. He died on 10 Nov. 1986.


6. H.E. CARLOS J. VALDES (Bacolor). Ambassador to Japan
The distinguished son of Bacolor, Carlos J. Valdes (b. 1919/d. )  finished commerce from La Salle College, and Law from the Far Eastern University in 1949, on scholarships. He also taught at Holy University, in Angeles. Valdes then opened a successful  Law and Accountancy firms with many high profile clients in the business world. Valdes became a member of the Constitutional Assembly in 1971,he served as  ambassador to Japan from 1978-1986.


7. H.E. RAFAELITA HILARIO-SORIANO (Bacolor). Ambassador to Israel.
Dr. Rafaelita Hilario-Soriano’s (b.2 Jul. 1915/d. 1 Jan2007) was the child of  eminent jurist and politician Zoilo J. Hilario of Bacolor  with Trinidad Vasquez. After finishing a political science degree from the Philippine Women’s University in 1936, Soriano won a Barbour Scholarship at the University of Michigan. Returning in 1948, she forayed into another career path—Foreign Affairs. She was named as a Chairman of the Information, Culture, Education and Labor Activities Committee of the SEATO and as Sec.-General of the SEATO Council of Minister’s Meeting in 1970. This led to her being named as an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Israel.


8. H.E. BIENVENIDO L. TAN JR. (Bacolor). Ambassador to Germany,1989
Amb. Tan has roots in Bacolor, being the grandson of Don Gonzalo Arceo Tan, a financier of the Revolution. His parents were Judge Bienvenido Tan, Sr. and Salome Limgenco. Tan became an outstanding public servant and headed the BIR during Pres. Corazon Aquino’s term. In 1989, he was named Ambassador to Germany. The late Sister Mary Christine Tan is his sibling.


9. H.E. RUPERTO M. DIZON (Magalang). Ambassador to Jordan
When the Philippines reopened ties with Jordan in 1998, Ruperto Dizon became the  Philippine Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Hashemite Kingdom.The Philippines also decided to re-open its Embassy in Amman in recognition of the critical role that Jordan continues to play in regional and international affairs, especially in the Middle East Peace Process. Dizon was also tasked with the care and concerns of the growing number of Overseas Filipino Workers in Jordan. Amb. Dizon served as Consul general at the Philippine Consul General in New York. Upon retirement, he was  given the Distinguished Service Award in New York on 27 Sep. 2012.


10. H. E. LEONCIO R. PARUNGAO JR. (Arayat). Ambassador to Palau
Prior to becoming an ambassador, Leoncio Parungao held a corporate job in public relations at the Central Bank. The accomplished Parungao finished Journalism from Far Eastern University in 1952, and was a Ten Outstanding Young Men Awardee for Public Service in 1964. He served as Press Secretary of the first President Macapagal at the very young age of 31. From 1998- 2004, he was the Philippine ambassador to the Republic of Palau. In 2012, he  was conferred the Distinguished Service Award by DFA.


11. H.E. LAURA QUIAMBAO-DEL ROSARIO (Angeles City).  Ambassador to India and Vietnam.
Amb.Laura Del Rosario holds an A.B Litt. Degree from Maryknoll (1968) and her M.A. in Education from the University of the Philippines (1975). She was commissioned as a career Foreign Service Officer in 1979, and was assigned to Singapore.  She was the country’s senior official at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.  She was appointed the Alternate Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna, and served as Ambassador to India, Nepal (non-resident) and Vietnam.She retired as Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, one of the highest positions in the Foreign Service.


12. H.E. VESTA R. CUYUGAN (San Fernando). Ambassador to New Zealand
Amb. Vesta Roque Cuyugan was the 4th  Philippine ambassador to New Zealand, serving there from 1993-1996. She was coaxed out of her retirement by the Ramos government to head Philippine foreign affairs office in Taiwan (since the Philippines does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan ) towards the end of the president’s term.


13. H.E. LEONIDA L. VERA (Sasmuan). Ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican)
Leonida Laki Vera served as Ambassador of the Philippines to the Holy See (Vatican), replacing Amb. Francisco Alba who retired in 2003. She had previously worked for the United Nations Development Fund for Women and religious organizations, such as Caritas Manila, Council of Laity of Manila, Children Rosary Movement, and Paraclete Foundation. An accounting graduate of UST, Amb.Vera is a recipient of the Dame of the Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester and St. Gregory in 1994 and 1998, respectively. She quit her post in 2008.  She was a Most Outstanding Kapampangan Awardee for Government Service in 2014.


14. H.E.  JERRILL G. SANTOS (San Fernando). Ambassador to Vietnam
Jerril G. Santos of San Fernando is the current Chief of Mission of the Philippine Embassy in Vietnam which he assumed in 2009. With the Department of Foreign Affairs since the 1980s, Amb. Santos has served several presidents as chief of Presidential Protocol and is now Consul general of the newly opened Philippine Consulate General in Houston. His awards include:  Gawad Mabini, with a rank of Dakilang Kasugo (2007),  the Order of Sikatuna, with a rank of Datu (2009) and honored as among the Outstanding Fernandinos in 2012


15. H.E. MA. CONSUELO PUYAT-REYES (Guagua). Ambassador to Chile.
Consuelo Puyat is the daughter of Deogracias Puyat, a son of industrialist Gonzalo Puyat from Guagua. Her mother is Patria Gil. She served as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Chile, based in Santiago. Lito Puyat, a name associated with Philippine basketball, is her brother.


16. H.E. MERCEDES REINARES –ARRASTIA TUASON (Lubao).  Ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican)
Maria Mercedes Reinares y Arrastia-Tuason (b. Sep. 27, 1930) is an alumnus of St. Scholastica in Manila. She is known for her work in the Red Cross and her pro-life activism. She was appointed ambassador plenipotentiary to the Holy See in 2009. In May 23, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI awarded Tuason the Grand Cross of Merit for the title Order of Pius IX due to her charitable and diplomatic services to the Catholic Church, a coveted title that was not granted to women until November 1993. She is a 2016 Outstanding Kapampangan Awardee in Government Service.


17. H.E. ELIZABETH P. BUENSUCESO (San Fernando). Norway, Denmark, Iceland , ASEAN
H.E. Elizabeth P. Buensuceso is a  Permanent Representative (PR) of the Philippines to ASEAN, based in Jakarta. Prior to her appointment, Amb. Buensuceso was the Assistant Secretary of the Office of European Affairs-DFA (2011-2013), the Ambassador  to Norway, Denmark, and Iceland (2008-2011), and Lao PDR (2004-2008). She is the third  Philippines’ Permanent Representative to ASEAN. Her mother, a Pineda, is from San Fernando. The ambassador speaks the Kapampangan language.
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SOURCES:
MANY THANKS TO Acting Asst. for Public Diplomacy-DFA MR. ELMER G. CATO for providing the updates.
Bienvenido l. Tan Jr.: Leo Suryadinata, editor. Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary . Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2012.
Philippine Government Directory, Diplomatic Post Publishing Corporation, 2000      
Rogelio dela Rosa, Rafaelita Hilario, Amelito Mutuc: www.viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com
Vesta Cuyugan: The Pampangans, by R. Hilario. Info c/o: Mr. Roberto Magat

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