Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario (File photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Albert del Rosario, a veteran diplomat who led efforts to secure international support and a legal armor against China’s expansionist claims over Philippine territorial waters, has died at the age of 83.
Del Rosario, who served as foreign secretary under then President Benigno Aquino III from 2011 to 2016, died while en route to the United States, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday in a statement that did not specify the cause of death.
“He was a consummate diplomat and an inspiring leader who led the DFA with integrity and unwavering commitment to public service. You will be missed, Mr. Secretary,” Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said, adding that the country has “lost a patriot.’’
The country, he said, also lost “a staunch advocate of protecting and advancing national security and promoting the rights and welfare of Filipinos.”
In a statement of mourning, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thanked Del Rosario, “an honorable diplomat and esteemed public servant,” for “his deep commitment to our national interest and his unwavering devotion to our shared values.”
Former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, in an Inquirer interview, said Del Rosario died on a plane shortly before landing in San Francisco, California, where he was traveling with his wife Gretchen on a pilgrimage.
Carpio, who like Del Rosario took to local and international forums to staunchly articulate the Philippine position against China’s sweeping maritime claims, said that thanks to the arbitral ruling won by the Del Rosario-led team in 2016, “our vast exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea is legally secured for present and future generations of Filipinos.”
He recalled how Del Rosario remained “very active” when they were organizing the opposition group 1Sambayan in the months leading to the May 2022 elections.
The late secretary suffered from a deteriorating spinal problem and several other complications, the Inquirer learned.
Fierce critic of China
Born in Manila on Nov. 14, 1939, Del Rosario went on to graduate with a degree in economics from New York University and later became a fierce critic of China.
Relations with Beijing soured during his tenure at the DFA, which was marked by a fierce standoff in 2012 in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, a chain of reefs and rocks 240 kilometers west of the main Philippine island of Luzon.
Del Rosario was behind two prominent legal cases against Beijing, including a 2013 case at an international tribunal that eventually struck down China’s “nine-dash” claim to most of the resource-rich South China Sea waterway.
In July 2016, the tribunal ruled China’s claims had no basis in international law and violated the sovereign rights of the Philippines to fish and explore for resources in waters within its 370-km EEZ.
Del Rosario continued his criticism of China after leaving office by holding public forums organized by his think tank, Stratbase ADR Institute, and writing opinion columns in local newspapers, including the Inquirer.
In March 2019, Del Rosario filed a complaint against Chinese officials in the International Criminal Court (ICC), alleging “crimes against humanity” over the supposed environmental fallout of Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea.
The complaint was eventually dismissed because China is not a state party to the Rome Statute that established the court.
Months after filing the ICC case, he was denied entry to Hong Kong in what critics called retaliation for his criticism of Beijing.
Private sector
Before entering government service, Del Rosario sat on the board of more than 50 companies in the banking, insurance, real estate, shipping, telecommunications, consumer products, retail, pharmaceutical and food sectors. He served as chair of the Philippine Stratbase Consultancy and the Makati Foundation for Education, and president of Gotuaco, Del Rosario Insurance Brokers and Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corp.
He also held directorships in PLDT Inc., BusinessWorld Publishing Corp., First Pacific Co., PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Philex Mining Corp., Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp., Manila North Tollways Corp., ABC Development Corp., Rockwell Land Corp., Cignal TV and TV5 Network.
Among his civic advocacies, Del Rosario supported the Philippine Cancer Society, Asia Society Global Council, Citizens for Promoting Human Rights and Carlos P. Romulo Foundation. A first-degree black belter, he once chaired the Korean Hwa Rang Do Martial Arts Association of the Philippines.
The Management Association of the Philippines, who in 2014 named Del Rosario its Management Man of the Year, remembered him for “raising the standards of economic diplomacy” and “setting a leadership example that Filipino professional managers should emulate.’’
Stratbase hailed its late chair as “a champion of democratic values and rules-based international order.’’
Del Rosario attended Xavier High School in New York City. He and wife Gretchen have five children.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said that under Del Rosario, “our foreign service became more active and felt” by the people. “He also contributed to the growth of the private sector through his contributions in the insurance sector where he was a stalwart.”
“I have rarely met such a dignified and gentlemanly person who was also perfectly capable of fighting indefatigably for what he believed in,” said Sen. Risa Hontiveros. “He preached and practiced what he called hard diplomacy. We must carry on his fight.”