Duterte OKs appointment of Cato as PH ambassador to Libya – Locsin | Global News

Duterte OKs appointment of Cato as PH ambassador to Libya – Locsin

/ 10:21 AM June 19, 2019

Elmer G Cato

Elmer Cato. PHOTO from Elmer Cato’s Twitter account

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has reportedly approved the suggestion of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. that Philippine Embassy in Tripoli Chargé d’Affaires Elmer Cato be named ambassador to Libya.

Locsin made the announcement over Twitter on Wednesday in the wake of the ongoing conflict in Libya.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It must have been after I announced that the President gave me the okay to make you ambassador so the last foreign post in Tripoli is complete with an ambassador should worse come to worst,” Locsin said.

FEATURED STORIES

“Keep safe but never be seen to take cover. Stiff upper lip. Way to go,” he added.

Locsin was reacting to an earlier tweet from Cato, who said that some of his colleagues checked on him after he was reportedly killed  when the embassy came under rocket attack.

“Please refer to him as Ambassador Cato. No man more deserves the title. I asked the President and he said for it. If the embassy falls with him in it I want it to be reported the embassy fell with its ambassador,” Locsin said in a separate tweet.

However, no appointment paper has been released yet for Cato’s supposed new post.

ADVERTISEMENT

Philippine ambassadors are appointed by the President and are  confirmed by the powerful Commission on Appointments.

Cato, a journalist-turned-diplomat, took on his assignment as Chargé d’Affaires,  en pied and Head of Mission at the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli with concurrent jurisdiction over Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Chad, Mali, and Niger in March 2019.

Before he was assigned to his current post in Libya, Cato served as acting Assistant Secretary of the Office of Strategic Communications and Research (OSCR) of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

He also previously served as Chargè d’Affaires of the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad.  (Editor: Mike U. Frialde)

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

TAGS: ambassador, Department of Foreign Affairs, DFA, Duterte, Elmer Cato, Global News, Libya, Locsin, News, Philippine Embassy, President Rodrigo Duterte, Teodoro Locsin Jr., updates

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.