CA confirms appointment of new PHL envoy to China, 6 other ambassadors

Amid the Philippines-China territorial row in the Panatag Shoal, the bicameral Commission on Appointments on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of the new Philippine ambassador to Beijing, along with six other envoys to various foreign posts. During the CA's plenary session on Wednesday, the appointments body confirmed the appointment of Sonia Brady as the Philippine ambassador to China with concurrent jurisdiction over Korea and Mongolia. Also confirmed ambassadors were:

1. Olivia Palala (to Jordan and Palestine); 
2. Benito Valeriano (India and Nepal); 
3. Alejandro Mosquera (Russia, Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine); 
4. Oscar Orcine (Libya, Algeria, Chad, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Niger and Tunisia);
5. Alex Lamadrid (Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo); and
6. Patricia Ann Paez (Poland).

Brady's nomination was not supposed to be tackled by the CA committee on foreign affairs on Wednesday because her appointment papers were submitted only last Monday and her nomination has not been published yet. However,  the Department of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the CA panel asking it to waive the prescribed period for the publication because of the urgent need to fill the post, which the members of the body approved. "I will not object to that simply because we have a very critical national matter that has to be attended to.  She's served there already for four years so I have no objection to Sonia Brady being confirmed," said Senator Sergio Osmeña III. Rep. Roilo Golez likewise supported Brady's nomination, saying he saw how she worked while she was serving her assigment to Thailand. "I saw her in action and I think we have a very qualified diplomat for... a very delicate situation. I fully agree with Sen. Osmeña that this matter is of national interest," he said. China has likewise welcomed Brady's appointment to the post, saying she can help strengthen the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Brady, 70, served as Philippine ambassador to China from 2006 to 2010. She was appointed again to the post earlier this week after the CA objected to the appointment of Domingo Lee to the same post. — LBG, GMA News