Marcos reassigns Manalo as UN representative, promotes Lazaro to DFA chief

Metro Manila, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promoted Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro to Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), replacing Enrique Manalo a day after he announced a Cabinet reset.

In a briefing on Friday, May 23, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the president accepted Manalo’s courtesy resignation, which Marcos sought from all secretaries.

Manalo will be the country’s representative to the UN as incumbent Antonio Lagdameo is set to retire on July 31.

As DFA undersecretary, Lazaro was the lead in bilateral relations and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) affairs.

A veteran diplomat, she has also held several key overseas posts which included assignments in London, UK, Berne, Switzerland, and Madrid, Spain.

In her foreign service career, Lazaro focused on crafting foreign policy as she assumed posts multiple times at the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs, including as assistant secretary from 2011 to 2014.

She was also ambassador to Paris and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO since 2014, and also worked as ambassador to Switzerland, consul general in Sydney, Australia, and deputy consul general in New York, USA.

In a sweeping move to “realign government with the people’s expectations,” Marcos sought the courtesy resignation of all Cabinet secretaries, signaling what he described as a decisive recalibration of his administration. 

Malacañang said the shake-up halfway through the administration does not single out an official and government operations are unhampered.