Palace: Sonia Brady will sail through appointment process

Malacañang is confident that newly appointed Ambassador to China Sonia C. Brady, a career diplomat, will not have a rough time in the Commission on Appointments (CA) unlike previous nominee Domingo Lee.

“We don’t want to sound arrogant and say that they will have no problem with her,” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte a day after President Aquino named Brady to the position. “But with her extensive experience in foreign affairs and foreign relations, we are confident that she can ably answer the questions of the members of the CA.”

Mr. Aquino appointed Brady to head the country’s top diplomatic outpost in China amid a tense standoff over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Valte told government radio dzRB that Brady was an “old hand” at foreign affairs “who could hit the ground running, someone who is already familiar with the culture of the host country, its politics and its ways.”

She noted that Brady had served as ambassador to Beijing from 2006 to 2010, making her highly qualified for the post.

“Given that we have a multifaceted relationship with China, it’s important for the ambassador to already know the lay of the land, so to speak,” she added.

The President appointed Brady after letting go of his earlier nominee Lee, a Filipino-Chinese businessman, who asked that he no longer be considered for the post after the CA deferred his appointment several times.

Mr. Aquino, however, still appointed Lee as special envoy to China with several specific assignments to strengthen relations between that country and the Philippines.