Tess Lazaro confirmed as DFA chief, replaces Manalo

The Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday confirmed the ad interim appointment of Theresa “Tess” Lazaro as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), replacing outgoing DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo.

Lazaro, a seasoned career diplomat, was appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on May 23. Manalo, whose courtesy resignation was among those accepted during the President’s recent Cabinet “recalibration,” will return to his former post as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

During CA deliberations, Senator Loren Legarda pressed Lazaro on how the DFA balances multilateralism, minilateralism, and ASEAN Centrality in the Indo-Pacific region.

Lazaro responded that ASEAN Centrality is “ingrained” in the bloc’s operations, and that multilateral and minilateral engagements are no longer seen as conflicting.

“The Philippines is a strong believer of multilateralism, of course, the bigger and the grander scale. However, on the minilateral basis, there are certain countries that kept aligned themselves,” she said.

“As a member of the ASEAN, it (ASEAN Centrality) is still the principle that we abide. In other words, to a certain extent, multilateralism, minilateralism, and ASEAN Centrality can be aligned, and we try to adhere to that concept,” she added.

Legarda also inquired about the Philippines' stance on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Lazaro said the Philippines adheres the Two-State principle, which was proposed and adopted in the United Nations to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

She also reiterated that the Philippines is advocating for peaceful resolution of the armed conflict in the region.

Before her appointment, Lazaro served as DFA Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs. She was also the country’s lead negotiator for the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and represented the Philippines in the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism with China.

These talks helped facilitate Manila’s rotation and resupply missions to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal—one of the flashpoints in the ongoing maritime dispute between China and the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.

The Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, a low-tide elevation on the WPS, has become one of the points of contention between the Philippines and China in the recent years due to their overlapping claims in the area.

Aside from Lazaro, the powerful CA also approved the ad interim appointments of 59 other officials of the DFA.