The Commission on Appointments on Wednesday confirmed the ad interim appointments of Henry Bensurto Jr. as Philippine ambassador to Turkiye, Raul Hernandez as ambassador to Oman, and Carlos Sorreta as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
The CA also confirmed the ad interim appointments of Renato Villa as ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Paul Cortez as ambassador to Portugal, Josel Ignacio as ambassador to India, and Maria Angela Ponce as ambassador to Malaysia.
During the plenary session, Bensurto, who was part of the country’s delegation to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS that gave the Philippines its landmark victory against China in 2016, was asked about the importance of the arbitral ruling.
“I think it’s very important for us to tell the world what exactly was the ruling and it is very important for the international community to understand the legal and political implications of the ruling,” he said.
“If I may be more specific on that, in the past, whereas more than 500,000 square kilometers of Philippine exclusive economic zone and another more than 500,000 square km of the continental shelf, that’s about a million square km of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone — most of this are now no longer disputed because of the ruling,” he added.
He said: “What used to be a large disputed area is just now limited to something like 13,000 square km, 13,000 sq km out of a million sq km.”
Smooth deliberation
The CA also confirmed the ad interim appointments of 86 generals and senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, including the designation of former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade Jr. as a colonel in the Philippine Air Force reserves.
The deliberations by the bicameral CA Committee on National Defense were conducted smoothly as it did not even last an hour — with CA members including 2nd District Negros Oriental Rep. Manuel Sagarbarria, BacoRep. Greg Gasataya, Sen. Nancy Binay, and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go manifesting full support for the promotion of the 86 AFP general and senior officers.
During his manifestation, Go vouched for Tugade’s dedication to public service, saying it could be an asset to the military reserve forces.
Tugade formally joined the Philippine Air Force Reserves as a lieutenant colonel in December 2017.
Go also acknowledged the sacrifices and dedication of the AFP soldiers in providing service to the Filipinos on top of defending the country.
Speaking at the CA plenary, Pangasinan Rep. Ramon Guico commended the newly confirmed AFP officials, particularly those soldiers adopted by the Pangasinan province.
“I believe that they will act in the best interest of the country in line with the social and moral obligations expected of them,” Guico said.
Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri noted that many of the newly promoted AFP officers had served in Mindanao and were instrumental in keeping a long period of peace in the region.
“I thank you all for your service to our country, to our flag and nation,” he said, noting that these officers had faced “insurmountable odds” and always looking out for the interest of the country, sacrificing even their lives, above all.
Before the CA adjourned its first regular session, Zubiri announced that the commission had confirmed 597 nominations and appointments, of which 452 were AFP officers.