Brady recovering well, might be back home this week – Del Rosario

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Ambassador to Beijing Sonia Brady has been recovering well and might be back to the country soon, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) chief said Tuesday.

“She has been recovering well. I heard that if her progress continues, there are plans to fly her home this week,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario told reporters in an interview after welcoming 263 repatriates from Syria Tuesday.

Brady suffered a massive stroke late last month and has remained confined in a Beijing hospital.

Brady, 71, had been appointed by President Benigno Aquino III to replace former Ambassador Domingo Lee, who was bypassed several times by the Commission on Appointments. Brady also served in the same post from 2006 to 2010.

Alex Chua, Brady’s deputy, had been overseeing the operations at the embassy in Beijing as charge d’affaires.

President Benigno Aquino III had earlier said that he was keen on choosing from a list of two career officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs as replacement for Brady.

It had been reported that Brady’s successor will be the third leadership change in the Philippine embassy in China in a little over two years of the Aquino administration.