The Philippines’ failure to secure a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) represents a missed opportunity to expand its influence on major global issues, foreign policy experts said.
Nonetheless, those interviewed by DAILY TRIBUNE noted that Manila still has other diplomatic platforms through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Foreign relations professor and former dean of the University of the Philippines Diliman-Asian Center (UP-AC) Henelito Sevilla Jr. said membership in the Security Council goes beyond traditional security concerns and advances broader national interests.
“You are now becoming an important actor in which other interests of the global community should also be served, should also be advanced,” he underscored.
Sevilla said a seat on the council would have required the Philippines to clearly define its positions on major international issues, including the conflict in the Middle East and the situation in Palestine, both recurring subjects of UNSC deliberations.
Hope remains
The Security Council is composed of 15 members: five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — and 10 non-permanent members elected to two-year terms.
This year, Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia were elected to replace outgoing members. Along with Kyrgyzstan, Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe secured the required two-thirds majority of votes from the 193-member General Assembly. Their terms begin on 1 January 2027.
For UP-AC Assistant Professor Aaron Jed Rabena, the loss means the Philippines missed the opportunity to help shape discussions and priorities within the world’s most powerful security body.
Still, Rabena said, “All’s not lost for Philippine multilateral diplomacy.”
“Definitely, as chair of ASEAN, we can contribute,” Sevilla said in a separate interview.
Rabena emphasized the need for the Philippines to strengthen its soft power and invest further in public diplomacy as part of its long-term foreign policy strategy.
DFA campaign
For Sevilla, projecting a coherent national position remains crucial.
“I think it’s important how we present ourselves before the international community. How we present our position on security issues. It’s important that our work level and our presentation are clear on how we perceive those issues,” he said.
In a statement, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro congratulated the Kyrgyz Republic and thanked the international community for its support and goodwill toward the Philippines throughout its candidacy.
She said the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) campaign was anchored on the country’s “longstanding commitment to peace, dialogue, international law, and cooperation among nations,” principles that the Philippines would continue to uphold.
Lazaro added that the country remains committed to working with all nations in pursuing stability and a rules-based international order.
The Philippines has served as a non-permanent member of the Security Council four times: in 1957, 1963, 1980 to 1981, and 2004 to 2005.
