Senate resolution filed to honor late former DFA chief, diplomat Albert del Rosario
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution seeking to honor the memory and work of the late former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) secretary Albert del Rosario, particularly his role on the Hague’s arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea.
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In filing Resolution No. 572 on Wednesday, Hontiveros described del Rosario as a “consummate and hands-on diplomat” who represented the Philippines with “utmost grace, honor, and dignity.”
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Del Rosario is also known for defending the national interest, including the interests of overseas Filipino workers or the country’s security interests vis a vis a foreign aggression, she added.
“Del Rosario will be remembered most for being at the helm of the Philippine victory in the Hague, where the 2016 Arbitral Award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration reaffirmed our legitimate rights in the West Philippine Sea and asserted baseline principles of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” Hontiveros said.
The senator said the ruling showed that the Philippines can assert and protect its rights over its territory and resources, “even in the face of conflicting claims from a global giant like China.”
She said that in del Rosario’s role in the ruling, he gave humankind “the largest award of the global commons in the history of UNCLOS.”
The senator further lauded del Rosario for being a public servant of “untarnished integrity and moral servitude.”
“Del Rosario’s legacy will live on, not only in his body of work but in our continued commitment as a people to stand up to aggressors and to defend our integrity,” Hontiveros said.
Del Rosario, 83, died on Tuesday as announced by his family.
He was at the helm of the DFA from 2011 to 2016 under the administration of the late and former President Benigno Aquino III.
It was under his watch that the Philippines first elevated to an international court its complaint against China for violating the country’s rights over the disputed West Philippine Sea.
This led to the historic 2016 arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines, which junked China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.
