PH negotiator to China, ASEAN is new foreign secretary

The Philippines' top negotiator to China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been chosen as the new foreign affairs secretary in a major Cabinet reshuffle ordered by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

Maria Theresa Lazaro will assume the post as Marcos' foreign affairs chief, replacing Enrique Manalo, who will return to his former post as Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, which he held from 2020 to June 30, 2022 under former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Lazaro will take over the helm at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on July 31, but she would still go through confirmation proceedings in Congress.

She is the second female career diplomat appointed as DFA Secretary after Delia Domingo Albert in 2003.

A seasoned career diplomat, Lazaro, 66, negotiated a landmark agreement with China on a provisional arrangement for the Philippine delivery of supplies to Filipino forces at Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) to prevent a repeat of past confrontations.

Signed in July 2024, the agreement that covers Ayungin and seeks to avoid altercations after a violent clash between Philippine Navy special forces and Chinese coast guard personnel on June 17, 2024 at the Philippine-occupied area.

Since the forging of the agreement, succeeding resupply missions to the shoal have been peaceful with Chinese ships keeping watch at a distance.

As DFA's Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN, Lazaro also leads negotiations for a crucial Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, which aims to prevent a major conflict in the disputed waters, called by Manila as the West Philippine Sea.

Lazaro, whose career in the foreign service largely focused on crafting Philippine foreign policy, spearheads negotiations for communiques in the ASEAN as the Philippines' representative to the bloc's senior official meetings or SOM.

Lazaro retired from the Foreign Service in 2024, but was re-appointed by Marcos.

She served multiple times at the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs, including as its assistant secretary.

She was also Manila's ambassador to Paris and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. She served as ambassador to Switzerland, consul general to Sydney, and deputy consul general to New York.

Early in her diplomatic career, Lazaro served at the Philippine Embassy in Madrid, the Philippine Mission to the UN in Geneva, and the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok.
 
She has a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Maryknoll College and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines. — VDV, GMA Integrated News