After meeting with the Department’s undersecretaries and assistant secretaries and being briefed on current foreign policy initiatives and programs, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo praised and thanked former Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert for her excellent legacy of work and professionalism. Secretary Romulo made this statement during his meeting with media this afternoon. In simple turnover ceremonies this morning, Secretary Albert passed on the leadership of the Department to Secretary Romulo.

Speaking to the media, Secretary Romulo said “I would like to reiterate my commendation for the work of my very distinguished predecessor Delia Domingo Albert. As I said this morning, Secretary Albert did an outstanding job in her almost nine months as Foreign Affairs Secretary, which is of course highlighted by her superb handling of the Iraq hostage crisis, among others. But Secretary Albert, as a career diplomat, deserves not only the recognition of the past months during which she served as Foreign Secretary. She has been with the Philippine Foreign Service for 37 years, and the dedication, professionalism and dynamism that she has given the DFA for almost four decades was merely put on the spotlight these past months.”

The Secretary said that he has reviewed the work of the Department and that he had been given a preliminary briefing by the Department’s undersecretaries and assistant secretaries and that based on these “I am profoundly encouraged by the clear fact that Secretary Delia Domingo Albert has left an excellent legacy in our foreign policy particularly in the areas of peace-building, development cooperation, protection of migrant workers and gender advocacy,” Secretary Romulo said during his meeting with the media this afternoon.

“As Executive Secretary, I also saw upfront the fine work and leadership of Secretary Albert. I will be taking over a Department that was well-managed and professionally run. I will be taking over foreign policy initiatives that were well-studied and staffed-out. I thank Secretary Albert and the dedicated men and women of the Department for this legacy,” Secretary Romulo added.