For almost 20 years I had known most of the ambassadors and consul generals who served in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Some of them even became friends. I am writing about them because of the latest news about Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, Hjayceelyn Quintana, being named as Philippine Permanent Representative to ASEAN.
Ambassador Quintana, who assumed the UAE post on August 20, 2018, will take over the responsibility of Ambassador Noel Eugene Servigon at ASEAN in the near future. The latter is now back in Manila as Assistant Secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Incidentally, Ambassador Servigon was Consul General at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi from 2007 to 2009. He became ambassador in 2016 when he was assigned to Hanoi, Vietnam.
Ambassador Quintana will be based in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the ASEAN Secretariat is operating. The basic mandate of the ASEAN Secretariat is “to provide for greater efficiency in the coordination of ASEAN organs and for more effective implementation of ASEAN projects and activities”. ASEAN or Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the following: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The others which later joined are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.
She has served the diplomatic missions in Beijing, Washington, D.C., Dublin, and Muscat, Prior to her appointment as the second woman ambassador to the UAE, she was Assistant Secretary in charge of the Office of the Middle East and African Affairs at the DFA.
The Philippines and the UAE established diplomatic relations on August 19, 1974. On June 17, 1980, the Philippine diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi opened The first resident Philippine Ambassador to the UAE was Isabelo Astraquillo (1986-89). He was succeeded by the following: Fortunato Oblena (1989-94), Roy Señeres (1994-98), Amable Aguiluz III (1998-2003), Libran Cabactulan (2003-2009), Grace Relucio Princesa (2009-2015) and Constancio Vingno, Jr. (2015-2018).
I am still in touch with Ambassadors Cabactulan and Vingno via LinkedIn and Facebook, respectively. After leaving the UAE Ambassador Cabactulan became Assistant Secretary for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation at the DFA and then Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Ambassador Vingno retired from the foreign service after his UAE term.
I had interacted on several occasions on Zoom ‘Ambassador for Country and Ambassador for God’ Princesa, who I call ‘Tita Grace’ as she is a member of the Handmaids of the Lord of our faith community. Her last post was at the Vatican. By the way, ‘Tita Grace’ was responsible for institutionalizing Financial Literacy among the various Filipino groups across the UAE.
The incoming Philippine Ambassador the UAE will be Alfonso Ferdinand Agbayani Ver who is the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Middle East and African Affairs at the DFA. It will take some time for him to assume his new post per diplomatic protocols.
The Consulate General opened to the public on April 6, 2004 with consular jurisdiction of the emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Umm al Quwain, and Fujairah. The first Consul General was Generoso Calonge, followed by Antonio Curameng (2006-2008), Benito Valeriano (2008-2012), Frank Cimafranca (2012-2015), and Paul Raymund Cortes (2015-2021). The current Consul General is Renato Dueñas, Jr., who assumed his post in November 2021.
Here’s wishing all the diplomats I mentioned good health and happy retirement (for some). Thank you for your service and God bless you all.