MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is set to welcome its new Secretary, after a major reshuffle of Cabinet positions ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
In an announcement from Malacanang, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin confirmed that veteran diplomat and the country’s top negotiator to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Maria Theresa Lazaro, will be Marcos’ new 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 the Duterte administration.
Notable landmark agreements negotiated by Lazaro, 66, is with China on the provisional arrangement for the Philippines to deliver supplies to its forces stationed at Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), to prevent the recurrence of confrontations.
The agreement, signed in July 2024, seeks to avoid altercations and ease tensions after a violent clash between Philippine Navy forces and Chinese coast guard personnel on June 17, 2024 in the area surrounding Ayungin Shoal.
The agreement is believed to have contributed to the “peaceful” subsequent resupply mission to the shoal, while Chinese ships keep watch at a distance.
As DFA’s Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN, Lazaro is at the forefront in negotiations for a crucial Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, with the aim of preventing a major conflict in the contested waters, or the West Philippine Sea.
She is also responsible for the crafting of Philippine foreign policy, focusing on negotiations for communiques in the ASEAN as the country’s representative in its senior official meetings (SOM).
In 2024, Lazaro retired from the Foreign Service 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 the country’s ambassador to Paris and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO; ambassador to Switzerland; consul general to Sydney, and deputy consul general in New York.
Before that, she served at the Philippine Embassy in Madrid, Philippine Mission to the UN in Geneva, and the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok.
Lazaro graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Studies from Maryknoll College and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines.
She will assume her post as the new Foreign Affairs Secretary on July 31, but will have to go through confirmation proceedings in Congress.
